Stolen Hearts
by A.G. Hart
Summary: Hart files. There's a serial killer on the lose who steals victims' hearts, will they be able to stop him before another is killed? Who else might have their heart stolen? Conflict amongst CSIs. Ch. 14 is in and the end...for now. Please R&R. Sequel?
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own CSI or any of its characters. I do, however, own my original characters.

Author's note: This takes place after Hands of Fate as if Father's Day never happened. I warned you it never did!

Chapter 1

The cool ocean breeze ruffled through Alex Hart's hair, now jet-black. It gently brushed her cheek and past the scar that had all but disappeared. It was an ever-present reminder of the ordeal she had gone through. She stared out at the vast expanse that was the Atlantic and took in a deep breath of the salty air.

She always loved the ocean. It was kind of ironic, though, as she had never learned to swim. There was just something about that great abyss that frightened her. Still, as a teenager, whenever she wanted to get away, she would drive the two hours to the coast. She especially loved times like this, when the season was changing and there was almost no one there. It was great for thinking and today her thoughts were hundreds of miles away in Las Vegas.

Las Vegas was a city that held many good times for her. She had met her father, Gil Grissom, there. In her pursuit of her father she had met Greg Sanders, with whom she now had a wonderful relationship. She also had many friends, a nice new apartment, and, as of next week, a new job.

The new job and apartment were products of the many bad things that Las Vegas held. The cast on her leg was gone, but the one still on her arm was a reminder: she had been kidnapped and almost lost her life there. After she had returned to her position at the Bureau, she had tried to make it work. But after a month, she just couldn't stand the way every one looked at her so she quit.

She laughed to herself as she remembered telling Gil about her change in occupation. It was during one of their dinners. She didn't know how to bring it up, so she just spit it out.

"I quit the Bureau," she told him.

His fork stopped halfway to his mouth. "Quit the Bureau?" He wasn't sure if he had heard her correctly.

"I just couldn't take it anymore," she said. "I needed something else. Something without a gun." She laughed a little.

"Do you have another job?" he questioned, not sure what to say about her quitting.

She nodded. "Catherine got me a job as a blackjack dealer."

Gil's jaw dropped. "What?" He was incredulous.

Alex let him stew for a moment and then she burst out laughing. "The look on your face is priceless!"

Gil softened his expression, realizing she was joking. "You're not a blackjack dealer?

"Please!" she replied. "You think they'd let me deal with this cast?" She paused again. Then she added, "I got a job as a CPA."

"Oh, well, that's good," Gil added, trying not to act flustered.

She laughed out loud this time and then looked around. Nope, no one but her on the beach. No one could hear her laughter.

The apartment had also been a struggle. She had to beg her landlord to let her out of her lease. After she had been almost killed—again—she just couldn't return to her old apartment. She spent the three weeks she was with Catherine trying to find a new place. Finally she found one across town.

Between the change in jobs, she had decided to take a week and return to Virginia. She hadn't been back since she moved to Vegas almost a year ago. She had wanted time alone. But now that she had spent almost a week alone, she wished Greg were here.

Back in Las Vegas, Greg was thinking the same thing: he wished he were in Virginia. But instead, he was in a dirty motel room collecting evidence along with Catherine Willows.

Greg was searching around the room looking for blood, footprints, bodily fluids, fibers, anything that would shed some light on the body in the bathtub. Of course, in a room like this, there was sure to be plenty of each. Most of which would probably be useless.

In the bathroom, Catherine was taking pictures, waiting on David Phillips to clear the body. It appeared to be a woman, her black hair in a bun. The bathtub was full to the woman's shoulders of water mixed with what appeared to be her blood. One arm hung over the edge, the other was somewhere beneath the murky water.

"Time of death?" Catherine asked, as David moved back from the body.

He furrowed his brow. "It's hard to tell. The body being almost totally immersed in water definitely effects body temperature. And not knowing whether the water was hot or cold to begin with makes it more difficult. But it appears as if rigor mortis has already subsided and decomp has barely started. I'd say she died 36 to 48 hours ago."

"Any apparent cause?" Catherine questioned.

"My guess," David replied. "From the amount of blood in the tub is exsanguination."

Catherine nodded. She had guessed the same thing. There was a lot of blood in that bathtub, but oddly, nowhere else. It appeared as though not a drop had spilled anywhere outside of the bathtub.

"Can we move her now?" Catherine asked him.

He nodded. "I'm not going to be able to tell anything else until we get her back to the morgue."

Catherine left the bathroom to get the pump and filter from the car. The water needed to be filter before it was drained in case any fibers, hairs or other evidence was in the water. Before she started, she took a sample of the blood and water mix.

As the water was drained, it revealed its mystery. The body was barely bruised. There only appear a few marks on the arms and a few on the torso. Catherine took pictures as more became visible. She stopped for a moment when she saw it.

It was a cut about a foot long, just below the woman's sternum. She could tell it was fresh and probably the cause for all the blood loss. It had been sewn, for lack of a better term, with 4 large stitches. The stitches were obviously not meant to heal the wound, but probably to get the woman's insides from getting out.

"Maybe our killer likes to play with needles as well as knives," Catherine mused out loud to herself.

In the motel office, Jim Brass was questioning the motel manager.

"Who rented the room last night?" Brass impatiently asked for the second time.

The manager, an overweight man of about 50, tossed his logbook in front of Brass. "That's what I've been trying to tell you! No one rented that room last night or for any night of the previous two weeks."

Brass didn't look pleased with the answer. He was also having a hard time believing it.

The manager, being a proprietor of human nature, didn't appreciate Brass's suspicion. "Listen, this ain't exactly the Ritz. We don't attract a lot of tourists. We're half full on our best nights. Some rooms go for months with rentin' and we don't waste housekeeping on empty rooms."

"Then how was the body found?" Brass was annoyed.

"The rooms do get checked once a week to make sure we don't got any freeloaders and tonight was the night to check the rooms," the manager answered.

"So the body could have been put in there anytime in the last week?" Brass didn't like asking the question.

"Yeah," the manager replied. "And I didn't see nuthin' suspicious either. But then again, the room ain't exactly in my line of sight. Now can I get back to work?"

Brass nodded as he walked out the door. He had had enough of the manager's indifference to the life that was lost.

He walked along the front of the motel and around the corner to the back where the room was located. He hoped Greg and Catherine had found something more useful.

As he entered the room, he saw Greg. "Find anything?"

Greg nodded. "I've found lots of stuff, just don't know if any of it's useful. I'll have to get it back to the lab."

Brass scowled. This was not what he wanted to hear. He walked past Greg and into the doorway of the bathroom. He could tell by the look on Catherine's face she wasn't having much luck either.

"Get anything out of the manager?" she asked him.

He shook his head.

"Nothing too useful here either," Catherine informed him. "It's so weird. There's a body in the bathtub, but no clothes, ID, or personal belongings. Hell, there aren't even any towels."

"Of all the places to die," Brass muttered as he walked out the door.

Sometime later after the sun rose, Alex was just getting off of the airplane. She had taken an early morning flight, trying to get in not too long after Greg got off work. She checked her phone as she walked down the jet way—no messages.

As much as she loved Virginia, she was happy to be back in Vegas. This city she hadn't been in for quite a year had become her home. She was also glad she still had a few days before she had to start her new job.

As she walked out of the gate area, she wondered if Greg would be able to pick her out of the crowd. He didn't know about her new hair color. But, she figured the black cast on her arm was a dead give away.

She looked around, trying to find him, but he was nowhere to be found. She checked her phone again, thinking it might've needed time for the messages to show. Still nothing.

She thought maybe his shift ran late. However, he'd been pretty good about letting her know in the past. So she decided to call him.

Greg was in the lab, busily combing through the evidence he had collected from the motel room when his phone rang. He swore at himself under his breath when he saw the number.

"I am so sorry," he answered the phone.

"It's ok if you're running late," she replied. "I can wait."

"I'm not late, I forgot!" he told her.

"Oh," was her disappointed reply.

"I'm in the middle of processing evidence," he tried to explain.

Alex, who had learned from Gil that work for a CSI always came first, tried to be less disappointed. "It's ok," she attempted to be convincing. "Is Nick working?" She didn't even ask about Gil. She _knew_ he was working.

Greg hesitated. He was a little leery of Alex's friendship with Nick. It's not necessarily that he was worried, however he couldn't help but feel a little jealous. He really didn't like to say anything about it, though. Nick was the one who saved her life. "No," he finally answered. "It was his day off."

"I'll give him a call," she replied. She knew Greg was jealous, but also knew it was unfounded. Nick was like the brother she never had. She always thought Nick was also too good for her; she liked a guy with a little edge. "You get to work!" she said playfully.

"I'll come by later," he said. "But I don't know how much later."

"Ok," she replied. "But you better come by! I've missed you."

"I've missed you too. I'll see you later," he hung up and got back to work.

Alex flipped through the numbers on her phone until she found Nick's. Then she hit send.

After a few rings, he answered. "Hello?" he sounded half-asleep.

She heard the tiredness in his voice. "Hey, It's Alex. I'm sorry did I wake you?"

"Hey, Alex," he said, trying to sound more awake. "No, it's ok. What's up? Are you back in town?"

She could hear him yawn. "Yeah, that's why I called. I'm at the airport and Greg's stuck at work. So, I was wondering…"

"If I could come pick you up?" Nick finished her sentence.

"Yeah," she sheepishly replied. She hated asking people for favors.

He was beat. He'd only been in bed a couple of hours, but he hated to turn down a request from a friend. "It may be like forty-five to an hour," Nick stated.

"That's ok," she answered. "I can wait. I'll grab a cup of coffee. Call me when you get to the airport and I'll meet you outside."

"Will do," he replied and hung up.

He swung his legs over the side of the bed and stood up. His legs felt like lead weights. He stretched for a brief moment. Then he tried to wipe the sleep from his eyes. He really didn't want to get up, but for Alex, he'd do anything. Especially when it was something Greg couldn't.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Catherine walked into the morgue where Doc Robinson was just finishing his autopsy. The victim lay on the cold metal table covered with a thin blue sheet.

"Find anything interesting?" Catherine asked him.

"It's what I didn't find that was really interesting," he replied.

She raised one eyebrow. "Oh?"

"Her heart is missing," he stated.

"Her heart? How?"

Robinson pulled back the sheet, exposing the cut on the woman's abdomen. He pointed to it. "It appears that the cut was made just below the sternum and the attacker reached under the ribs to pull out the heart."

"Wouldn't that be…messy?"

Robinson nodded. "Extremely. And, from the bruising around the wound it appears as if she was still alive when it was removed."

Catherine was disgusted, but not stunned. She had seen a lot of things in her years as a CSI and nothing really surprised her. "Any defense wounds?"

"No defense wounds," Robinson told her. "No wounds of note, actually, besides the obvious."

"Hmmm," was Catherine's only response.

"Oh, and I did find this," Robinson said, tossing a plastic bag over to Catherine.

She picked it up and looked at it. It was a playing card. "The queen of hearts," Catherine stated aloud.

"It was in the chest cavity," he added.

"I guess the killer isn't playing with a full deck," Catherine quipped.

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Nick was searching through the crowd, looking for Alex. He had to do a double take when a black-haired woman tapped on his window before realized it was her.

"Have a nice trip?" he asked, as she slid into the passenger seat.

"It was excellent," she replied. "Very relaxing."

"Good," he smiled.

"Thank you so much for picking me up," she smiled back.

He loved her smile. Even after all she'd been through, it still had an innocent quality. "Not a problem."

"Listen," she said, turning to look at him as he drove. "I was thinking, if you wanted, I could buy breakfast as a thank you."

"You know you don't have to do that," he replied. "It's really not a big deal."

"I know, I know. But I want to. I mean, I could have called a cab. Plus, I haven't seen you in a week. I need an update. I want to know how your date went."

Nick shook his head at the thought of his date. It had been a disaster. But, getting to spend time with Alex telling her about it would help ease the pain. "I could eat," he replied.

"Great! Where should we go?" she asked.

Half an hour later they were seated in a booth, waiting on their food.

"So, how did your date go?" Alex asked.

Nick rolled his eyes.

"That bad, huh?" Alex leaned forward and patted his hand in sympathy. "I'm sorry."

"It's ok," he said. "She was nice. She just wasn't…" he paused, looking for the right word. "Interesting." He really wanted to say, "She just wasn't you." But he didn't.

"Awww," she made a playful pouty face.

He motioned his hand to dismiss her. "It's really ok. Now, to change subjects, how was Virginia?"

Alex opened her mouth to speak, as she sat back in her seat. In the process she knocked her cup off the table. "Crap!" She bent over to pick up the cup.

Her shirt slid up as she bent over and revealed a mark on the small of her back. Nick stared at it trying to figure out what it was, never having seen it before.

"What's that?" he asked.

"What?" she replied as if not knowing what he was talking about, quickly tugging down her shirt.

"Is that a tattoo?" He gave her a sly smile. "You have a tattoo?" He was a little shocked. He never figured her for the type to have a tattoo.

She just nodded.

"Can I see it?" he replied.

She slid out of the booth and stood in front of Nick, with her back facing him. She lifted up her shirt just enough for him to see the tattoo.

He looked closely at it. It was a small handprint with the Greek letters Alpha and Omega on the palm.

"What does it mean?" he asked, as she put her shirt down and sat back in the booth.

"It's the handprint of God," she replied.

Nick raised an eyebrow.

"I know, I know," she heard his silent question. "And yes, I believe in God. Laugh if you will, I was just raised in church and something about it all stuck."

"No, that's cool," he said. "To be honest, I do too. It's just I never would have figured…I mean…knowing Grissom…"

"Yeah, kind of ironic, huh?" she knew what he was getting at.

"So even after everything?" he asked, his own faith wavering after the events of the past year.

"Especially after everything," she told him. "It wasn't just luck that brought me to Vegas, found me just in time…brought you to my door that day."

"It was lunch," he laughed.

"Ha. Ha. You know what I mean," she said. "You were early. Had you been on time, I would have been out of time."

He nodded. "It could have been a coincidence," he said, dismissing the conversation. This really wasn't the time or place for this conversation.

She wasn't going to let it go, but, lucky for him, the waitress came by with their food and the conversation turned to their meal. Then Nick got back to the subject of Alex's trip to Virginia. After they were finished, Nick drove Alex home.

"I can't thank you enough for picking me up," Alex said, as they pulled into the complex parking lot.

"I'm always glad to help," Nick replied.

They pulled into a parking spot and Nick put the car in park. Alex leaned over to give Nick a peck on the cheek. Nick was not paying attention, unsure if he should turn off the car. He turned his head to say good-bye and her peck meant for his cheek landed squarely on his lips.

It also was more than a peck. She was startled at first but then got lost in the kiss. Nick cupped Alex's cheek softly with his hand. After a moment, she pulled away, confused.

She had only thought about kissing Nick once and figured it would feel like kissing her brother, but it didn't. She also hadn't realized Nick had feelings for her. But the kiss made obvious his desire. "Kinda nice," she mumbled out loud.

"Just kinda nice?" Nick questioned, pretending to be hurt.

Alex looked at him, startled. She hadn't realized she had said anything out loud. "I got to go," she said, as she unbuckled herself and got out of the car. She opened the back door and grabbed her bag.

As she reached in, Nick reached back and lightly grabbed her arm. "Alex," he said softly.

She shook off his arm and pulled out her bag. She then shut the door and started quickly to her door. She wasn't sure what she was feeling. She just knew she needed to get in her apartment.

For Nick, the kiss had been everything he thought it would be: sweet and deep. Nick knew he had to go after her. He could tell she felt something too. "Alex," he called, getting out of the car.

She stopped when she heard her name and turned to look at him. Then she turned back around and kept walking. He ran to catch up with her, grabbing her arm right as she reached her door.

"Alex," he said, wanting to understand her reaction.

She turned around, not being able to shake his grasp this time. "I need to go inside," she said, pointing to the door.

"Did I do something wrong?" he asked, searching her eyes for an answer.

She shook her head. "I…I…" she stammered and looked down. She didn't understand her reaction anymore than he did.

He lifted her chin and looked into her eyes. He thought they were the most beautiful shade of green. Then he kissed her again. This time it was harder, more passionate.

This time, she pushed him away. "Look," she said forcefully, crossing her arms. "I'm dating Greg. This," she softened her voice a little. "This isn't right."

"You can't deny you felt something," Nick protested.

She put her key in the lock and opened the door. "I'm dating Greg," she repeated and then went inside, shutting the door on Nick.

Once inside, she leaned her back against the door and slid slowly to the floor. Nick was right; she had felt something. She just wasn't sure what to make of it.

Nick stared at the door for a moment. Then he started to knock on the door, but stopped himself before his hand connected with the door. He slowly put his arm back by his side and walked back to his car. If she wanted time, he'd give her time. He could wait.

Back at the lab, Catherine couldn't wait for the lab results on the victim's blood and for a hit on the fingerprints. It was taking too long, at least for her tastes. She was pretty sure they'd find something on the tox screen. You can't be conscious while your heart is being torn out and not fight back.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Greg knocked on the door, but he received no answer. He was pretty sure Alex was home; her car was still in the parking lot. It had been a few hours since she had called him from the airport, plenty of time for her to get home. He knocked again.

After waiting a moment longer, he took out his set of keys. Alex had given him, Catherine and Gil a set of keys to her apartment. After Thompson forced his way into her apartment and almost killed her, she hated to think what might have happened if the door hadn't been unlocked. She wanted to make sure that if something else happened, someone would be able to check on her.

He opened the door and walked in. He felt a little awkward. He'd been there many times before, but he'd never come in without her.

"Alex?" Greg called, after he walked in a few steps. He still received no answer.

He walked over to the TV to turn it on. The silence was too eerie for him; he liked noise. Before he turned it on, he noticed the reflection of a person lying on the couch. _She must have fallen asleep,_ he thought.

He walked over to her, noticing her black hair. It took him aback at first. His mind flashed back to the woman in the bathtub. _When she'd do that?_ After studying how the new color framed her face, he decided he liked it.

He leaned over and kissed her on the cheek. "Alex," he said, softly shaking her.

She stirred and slowly opened her eyes. She smiled when she saw it was him. "Hey," she replied. Then, as she started to awaken, she asked, "What time is it?"

Greg looked down at his watch. "It's about one," he replied.

She sat up and tried to run the sleep from her eyes. "You just getting off work?"

He nodded. "Lots of evidence to process," he told her. "But I needed some sleep."

"So you came over here?" she chided. "Like I'd let you sleep?"

He smiled and it panged her heart. She wanted to tell him the truth about the kiss, but knew that this was not the right time.

"Well, you're worth lack of sleep," he said, sitting down beside her. "Besides, I figured I'd talk to you for a little bit, then, if it's ok, crash on your extra bed for a couple hours."

She leaned over and kissed him on the cheek. "Sounds good."

"So how was Virginia?" he asked, taking her hand in his.

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Mia Dickerson was unsure of what she should do with the results in her hands. Normally a suspects DNA profile with a match on file was a good thing. But this, this match was more than she had been prepared for.

She nervously walked down the hall to Catherine's office. She was the lead on the case. She needed the results first.

"Catherine," Mia said as she knocked on her door.

Catherine looked up when she heard the knock. "Mia, were you able to get a profile from the hair we found?"

Catherine had found a few hairs in the water drained from the bathtub. A few of the strands still had a skin tag. She had hoped the samples hadn't deteriorated too much and a DNA profile would be possible.

Mia nodded and stepped into Catherine's office. "That-that's what I need to talk to you about." She motioned a request to shut the door.

Catherine nodded an affirmative response. "What is it?"

Mia walked over to Catherine and handed her the report. Catherine read the report and her jaw dropped.

"Are you sure this is right?" Catherine asked.

"I tripled checked the results," Mia confirmed.

"Have you shown this to anyone else?"

Mia shook her head. "I brought it straight to you."

"Thank you, Mia," Catherine replied. "I'll take care of it."

Mia was hesitant about leaving. She paused with her hand on the doorknob. "You'll get it to the police?"

Catherine understood the implication in Mia's question. "A suspect is a suspect," Catherine answered. "No matter whose daughter she is."

Mia opened the door and exited. As she left she heard Catherine on the phone.

"Gris," Catherine spoke in to the receiver. "We need to talk."

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Greg had fallen asleep hours ago, leaving Alex to entertain herself. She was afraid the television might wake him up, so she had decided to catch up on the news on her computer.

She had just started reading an article about the woman found in the bathtub when there was knock at her door. She quickly got up to answer it, not wanting the knocking to wake Greg up.

She looked out the peephole. It was Gil. She was puzzled. Gil wasn't really one to show up unannounced. She looked her watch, thinking maybe she had lost track of time and Greg was late for work.

She opened the door. "Hey Gil," she greeted him. "To what do I owe the pleasure?" She asked, ushering him in.

The look on his face was unusually serious. "I need you to come with me to the office," he said flatly.

She sensed something wasn't right by his tone and was alarmed by his words. "W-what's going on?" she stammered.

He removed his glasses and pinched the bridge of his nose. "If you don't come with me, they are going to issue a warrant for you."

"A warrant?" she didn't understand. "For what?"

"Why don't I explain on the way," he replied. "You really need to come with me."

Alex slowly nodded. She had no idea what was going on, but she knew if Gil was here, the situation was grave. As an afterthought she asked, "Do I need a lawyer?"

"I don't know," Gil replied. "Do you?"


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Alex sat in the interrogation room, her head down on the table. She couldn't believe she was here. She didn't know how she ended up here.

Gil had explained the evidence that had led to interest in her. Apparently, there were hairs with her DNA in a blood and water-filled bathtub. She wasn't sure how they ended up there, but she knew how it looked. She also knew, had they been anyone else's, this interview would have been a demand and not a request.

The door to the room opened and Detective Sofia Curtis entered. Brass had excused himself from the interview. He had met Alex on a number of occasions and didn't want this to compromise the investigation. Sofia, on the other hand, had heard stories of Alex, but never met her.

Alex lifted her head and looked at Sofia. Sofia sat down across from Alex.

"Alex Hart," she introduced herself, extending her hand.

Sofia took her hand. "Detective Sofia Curtis," she responded.

"Sofia," Alex repeated, recognizing the name. "I've heard good things about you."

"As I you," Sofia said, sliding a folder over to Alex. Then she continued, "Before we start, is it ok if we search your apartment?"

"Yes, it's alright," Alex said. She knew she really didn't have much choice. If she didn't agree, they would just get a warrant. At least this way she appeared cooperative. Plus, she knew she didn't have anything to hide.

On the other side of the two-way mirror, Brass made a phone call. CSIs from the day shift were being sent to search Alex's apartment. Too many of the graveyard shift knew Alex personally.

Sofia motioned for Alex to open the folder. Alex obeyed and found some pictures inside. The first was a picture of the woman who had been murdered. Her face looked familiar and Alex searched her memory to place her.

Sofia saw the look of recognition on Alex's face. "You've met her?" she questioned.

Alex continued to stare at the face. "She looks familiar, but I'm having a hard time placing her. Do you have a name?"

Sofia shook her head. "We haven't been able to identify her yet."

A memory flashed through Alex's mind; strobe lights, pounding music and an argument. "Ohhh," Alex said, remembering the woman.

Sofia looked at her questioningly. "You do know her?"

Alex nodded. "Well, not really," she stated. "I've met her though. She threw a drink on me at a club because her boyfriend was hitting on me."

Sofia took out a notebook and started to write something down. "When was this?" Sofia questioned.

"It was about a week ago," Alex replied. "The night before I left for Virginia."

"Were you with anyone?" Sofia knew Alex and Greg were dating and so expected the answer to be yes.

Alex sighed. "No, I was alone."

Sofia raised a questioning eyebrow.

"Greg had to work," Alex answered her unasked question. "So I went alone."

"Did you catch the woman's name?" Sofia asked, trying to direct the conversation back to the incident.

"Um," Alex placed her hand on her forehead. She thought back to that night. _What did he call her?_ She thought. "Heather," she finally answered. "The boyfriend called her Heather."

Sofia started writing again. "Ok, so what exactly happened?"

"I was at that new club, Viva, and after dancing for a few hours needed something to drink. I sat down at the bar and ordered. Then this guy, who was obviously intoxicated, sat down next to me and offered to buy me a drink. I declined; I don't take drinks from strangers. And while he pushing this drink on me, this woman, her," Alex slid the photograph of the murdered woman over to Sofia. "She comes up, seemingly intoxicated as well, and starts yelling at the guy. 'How can you hit on someone else when you're here with me?' And he starts up, 'Heather, Heather, it's not like that, she's hitting on _me._'

"So I'm just sitting there, waiting on my drink and trying to ignore the two love birds. Then Heather decides that the guy is telling the truth and starts calling me names. I ignore her and so she grabs my hair and yanks. I turn around to say something and then just as the bartender put my drink in front of me, she picked it up and threw it on me."

"What happened then?" Sofia asked, looking up from her notes. _That could explain the hairs,_ she thought.

"I left," Alex stated. "My shirt was soaking, what else was I going to do?"

"About what time was that?"

Alex paused for a moment, thinking. "It was about 2:30."

"After that?" Sofia asked.

"Went home. Went to bed. Got up the next morning and left for Virginia," Alex finished her story.

"Anybody that can corroborate your story?"

"The boyfriend and the bartender can verify that she threw the drink on me, but no one saw me home. You could also probably find the airport shuttle driver who took me to the airport," Alex informed her.

"So you weren't angry at this woman?" Sofia asked.

"Of course I was angry," Alex replied. "But mad enough to kill her? No. Plus, I'm not a violent person."

"Oh? What about your past assault conviction?" Sofia questioned.

Alex quickly looked at the two-way mirror. She knew Gil was there, listening, watching. "Turn the mic off," Alex demanded.

Sophia did as she requested. This was a voluntary conversation at this point. "It's off," she informed Alex.

"This is off the record?" Alex requested.

Sofia nodded.

Alex turned so that her back was facing the mirror. She only knew of one person who could have told Sofia about her record.

Behind the mirror, Gil turned to Catherine. "What conviction?"

Catherine was stunned. She thought Gil knew. "I-I…" she didn't know how to explain.

"What's she doing?" Brass asked before Catherine could answer, noticing Alex turning away from the mirror.

Gil knew what she was doing. Alex was aware of his ability to read lips.

Back in the room, Alex started, "I don't know what Sara's been telling you…"

"Sara?" Sofia interrupted. "What does she have to do with this?" she was confused.

"Sara told you about my record," Alex stated.

"It wasn't Sara," Sofia told her. "It was Catherine."

It was now Alex's turn to be confused. "Catherine?" she questioned aloud. _How does she know?_ Alex questioned to herself.

Sofia nodded. She wasn't sure why this was news to Alex.

"Well, it doesn't matter," Alex replied, shaking off her own questions. "It was a juvenile conviction and my record was expunged."

"If it was expunged and you didn't tell her, how does Catherine know?" Sophia asked, wanting to satisfy her own curiosity.

Alex wanted the answer to that question herself. The only think she could think of was that Sara had told Catherine. She could only hope Catherine was the only person Sara told. "Sara must have told her. She's the only one who knew."

Sophia was surprised by Alex's answer. She wondered why Grissom didn't know. "How did Sara find out?"

Alex looked over her shoulder at the mirror again. Then she turned back around, put her head in her hands and sighed. "Sara did some detective work of her own. There are a few articles that mention my trial."

"But you just said you were a minor. They don't put the names of minors in the paper," Sofia was trying to straighten out the details.

Alex sighed again. "The local paper printed my name, which they weren't supposed to do. I got a small settlement out of it. All the larger papers that picked up the articles took my name out. Sara happened to find the archives of the local paper."

"You do have an assault conviction, though?" Sofia repeated her earlier question.

"Like I said, it's inadmissible and that's all I'm saying about it. Now, if you want to move on to something else, you can turn the mic back on and we can go back on record."

"Ok, moving on," Sofia said, turning the mic back on. "So what time did you get to the airport?"

While they couldn't hear Sofia and Alex, Grissom asked some questions of his own. "What conviction is she talking about?" Grissom asked Catherine.

"She didn't tell you?" Catherine responded even though the answer was obvious.

Grissom shook his head.

"She was convicted of assault and book making when she was a teenager. It was a juvenile conviction."

Grissom, for the first time, finally felt like a parent. His child was hiding secrets from him. He wondered what else Alex wasn't telling him. "Did she tell you?"

Catherine shook her head. "I found some articles about it."

"Where?" Grissom questioned.

Before Catherine could answer, however, the mic in the interview room was turned back on and they went back to listening.

Sofia interviewed Alex for a couple more hours, trying to nail down the details of the last week. She was also trying to give the CSIs enough time to process Alex's apartment. They might find something that would shed more light on this situation.

Grissom heard the rest of the conversation, but barely listened. All he could think about was the fact that Alex was keeping secrets from him. This wasn't the first time she'd omitted something. Granted, they'd only known each other for about seven months, but these weren't little things that she wasn't telling. He was beginning to think, even after all they'd been through, maybe he didn't know her at all.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

During a break in questioning with Sophia, Alex faced questioning from Gil. The pair was seated in his office with the door closed. Alex knew what was coming.

"Gil," Alex started. "I'm so sorry I haven't told you about this. I just didn't know how to tell you."

"So tell me about it now," he responded, anger evident in his voice.

Alex paused for a long moment. She debated telling him the abbreviated truth, as it appeared everyone now knew, or the real truth. From the look on his face she knew nothing less than the absolute truth would do or she might be expelled from his life.

She took a deep breath, trying to fight back the tears that were threatening to break through. "When I was a teenager I was desperate to fit in, but I never could. So, after I started at the grocery store, when this guy, Dan Gregory, started paying attention to me, I loved it. He liked the fact that I was smart when most guys found it intimidating. And so I would do anything to make sure he kept on liking me.

"This, unfortunately, led me to get involved with bookmaking. But between the job, school and bookmaking, I couldn't keep up. The first time he offered me something, he said it was a caffeine pill."

Grissom raised an eyebrow. Alex understood the question.

"I knew it wasn't a caffeine pill," she told him. "Before I knew it, I was working for him for more and I couldn't stop. Someone turned us in; I think it was my grandmother. Anyway, Dan heard of the coming heat and thought it was my fault. He came after me and started attacking me. While we were fighting, the cops came and we were arrested. After the arrest, I tested positive for amphetamines.

"They had tons of evidence against me for drugs, bookmaking, and the assault. I was looking at many years in Juvie, or possibly being charged as an adult. So when they offered me a deal, I took it.

"I spent three months in a juvenile facility—mainly for drug treatment. When I got out, I changed my name and we moved. I straightened my life out and have never looked back," Alex finished and looked at Gil. She couldn't read the expression on his face.

There was a long, silent pause. Alex was sure it meant she was no longer a daughter. Gil finally broke the silence. "Why was that so hard?"

Alex was stunned. There were no words of condemnation, no accusations. She had been so sure her confession was going to be the end; it's why she kept silent for this long. She realized he saw her as she is, not as she was. The tears finally broke through and she started to sob. "I was so sure you'd hate me," she said through her sobs, burying her face in her hands.

Gil got out of his chair and walked around the front of his desk where Alex was seated. "As Helen Keller once stated, 'Character cannot be developed in ease and quiet. Only through experience of trial and suffering can the soul be strengthened, ambition inspired, and success achieved.'" He put his hand on her shoulder and she looked up at him.

She jumped up and hugged him tightly, sobbing into his shoulder. "I'm so sorry," she repeated over and over.

Gil just held her, trying to calm his daughter. He didn't have to ask about the current situation. He knew a couple hairs did not a murderer make.

After a few minutes, there was a knock on the door. Gil and Alex broke their embrace. Gil went to open his door as Alex quickly wiped her eyes. She knew, however, evidence of her tears was still present in the redness of her eyes.

"Hey Catherine," Gil said after opening the door.

"Hey Gris," She replied. Then seeing Alex she quickly added, "Sorry to interrupt, but they've requested your presence at a crime scene. Seems they have some creepy, crawly evidence for you."

Gil looked back at Alex. She just nodded an okay to leave. She had said her peace.

"Let's go," he said to Catherine.

"Is it ok if I stay in here for a few more minutes?" Alex asked before they left.

"I'll let Sophia know you're in here," Gil replied and then left, closing the door behind him.

Alex sat back down in the chair, resting her head in her hands. Her heart was ten pounds lighter knowing that Gil now knew the truth—the whole truth—about her past. She could only hope others would be as accepting because she knew it wouldn't be long before everyone found out.

After a few minutes pondering in silence, there was another knock on the door. This time, however, the person didn't wait for an invitation to come in.

"Hey Gris, I was wonder-" Greg started, but stopped when he saw Alex. "Oh, hey Alex," he said flatly.

She knew he had heard. "Greg, I'm sure you-"

Greg interrupted her, "Listen Alex, just—don't." He turned to leave.

She jumped out of the chair and rushed to grab his arm. "Please Greg, let me explain."

Greg turned back to face her. "I don't want explanations. I don't want more drama. All I've ever asked of you is the truth and you don't seem to be able to give that. All this just makes me wonder what else you aren't telling me."

Alex could feel the redness seeping into her cheeks. There _was_ something else she wasn't telling him, but she didn't want him to take out his anger at her on Nick. So instead of being honest, she got defensive. "Because I didn't tell you 'Oh hey Greg, I once had a drug problem and have been convicted of assault and bookmaking, but that was years ago, I'm better now.' It's kinda hard to work into a conversation. It doesn't make me a liar."

"I never said you were a liar," Greg shot back. "I just said you like to omit things sometimes."

"Oh, and that's so much better," she replied angrily. "Well if you're so sick of me, then let's just end this now before you get really sick of me."

"That's fine with me," he said and removed his arm from her grasp. Then he left.

"Fine!" she almost yelled back. Then, forgetting where she was, she slammed Gil's office door.

She swore at herself under her breath. She knew Greg had every right to be mad. She had left out things before; she was leaving things out now. She had become a little too comfortable telling the most positive version of her self. She needed to practice telling the whole truth. Until she could do that, she knew Greg would never give her a second, make that third, chance.

Alex needed to get some fresh air. She walked back to the interrogation room, to let Sophia know she was going outside but Sophia was nowhere to be found. Alex decided to go anyway. It's not like she could leave. She didn't have her car; Gil had brought her.

She had found a spot on the stairs to sit. The building wasn't very busy this late in the evening, so it wasn't hard to be out of the way. She sat staring up at the sky, noticing how the light cloud cover looked like corduroy. She took in the expanse of it all, pondering the predicament that now faced her.

After a while, she heard footsteps coming up behind her. At first, she thought it was Sophia coming to get her, but then she noticed the footsteps were too heavy to be hers.

"Is that step taken?" It was Nick.

She turned and looked up at him. "I can't deal with you right now."

"Deal with me?" Nick incredulously replied, sitting down next to her.

"Nick, it's been a shitty night as you've probably heard. I just can't deal with—"

"Whoa, hold up," Nick interrupted. "I know it's been a bad night. I just figured you could use a friend."

She gave him a suspicious look. He held up his hands.

"Just a friend," he assured her.

She sighed. "What is going on?"

Nick wasn't sure what she meant. "Huh?"

"This murder, Greg, my past, _you_. What did I do to deserve all of this in one day?" she clarified.

"Your life is always this exciting, isn't he?" he asked factiously.

She rolled her eyes. Then her expression turned serious. "You don't think I did it, do you?"

Nick placed his hand on hers. "Alex, I know you didn't do it."

"Well, at least one person does," she said.

They both grew quiet and just sat. There weren't really words to be said. She wasn't ready to address the other issue that hung over them. Right now she was just glad to have someone who was willing to be there and be understanding.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Grissom and Catherine had been warned about the smell as they approached the storage locker, but the stench still came as somewhat of a shock. It started to creep into their nostrils, as they grew closer to the entrance. When they actually crossed the threshold of the five-by-ten space, it engulfed them like a wave.

"Ahhh, nothing like the smell of rotting flesh," Grissom said.

"Yeah, it's great," Catherine replied, flatly.

They surveyed the facility as they stood in the doorway. Catherine was slightly in front of Grissom, as the single doorway didn't allow enough room for them to stand side by side. Except for the dead body half way back in to the space, it was empty. There was a pool of blood on the concrete floor from wall to wall surrounding the body and some splatter on the walls. In the blood on the floor were a few shoe prints Catherine hoped belonged to the killer and not the storage facility manager.

Catherine then began to take pictures. She then knelt down and scanned the floor for any possible evidence. She stood, taking photos for a few minutes. She knew that once she entered, there was no way to avoid the blood. After she was satisfied that she had gotten an accurate portrait, she entered. She made sure to get a few close-ups of the footprints as she walked towards the body. When she got the to it, she turned her head away. The gory body definitely reflected the fact it had been in here a while.

Grissom knelt down and took a sample of the blood on the floor. He then followed Catherine's footprints towards the body, alternating between taking his own set of pictures and scanning the floor for evidence. He stopped right behind Catherine as she started to take pictures of the body.

The body was laying face up, eyes closed, arms neatly by its side. Long dark hair was splayed on the floor all around the head. It was a petite body that still had on jeans, but no shoes. The toenails appeared painted, so both were pretty sure it was a woman. The shirt was pushed half way up the chest. There was a gaping wound on the exposed area of the body between the shirt and jeans—a deep cut right below the sternum—with bugs crawling all over it.

"We meet again, my old friends," Grissom said, kneeling down to collect some specimens.

As Catherine and Grissom collected evidence in the storage unit, Warrick was outside collecting evidence. He took pictures of the pry marks on the doorframe, the locations of the surveillance cameras, and the avenue that this particular unit was on.

He then talked to the facility manager. He found out that the building where the unit was located had just been built within the last three weeks and the security in that part of the facility had not been hooked up yet. This was disappointing; it meant no footage of the killer from the closest camera.

The facility manager was helpful, though. He informed Warrick every time someone entered, they had to enter a code, which was recorded. This created a list of everyone who entered. He then gave Warrick a list of people who had storage units and the list of people who'd been in for the last three weeks.

Back at the lab, Nick had excused himself from Alex's company. He was still on the clock and had to get back to work. Alex had stayed outside, at least for a little while longer.

She finally decided she needed to apologize to Greg and so decided to go in and find him. She stood up, dusted off her pants and entered.

It didn't take her long to find Greg. He was sitting in the break room with a sour look on his face.

"Greg," She said entering the room. "I'm so sorry."

He looked up at her. "You seem to be sorry a lot lately to a lot of people."

"I know," she agreed. "I'm just not all that thrilled about my past."

"It's not about your past," Greg told her. "It's about trust. You don't trust me, or, apparently, any one else."

The truth in Greg's word hurt. It was something she'd known, but hated to admit. "You're right." She took the seat across from Greg.

"It's not enough that I'm right," Greg replied. "I need you to trust me."

She leaned forward and reached out her hand to grab his. "I know."

He pulled his hand away. "So, be honest with me, did you do it?"

She sat back in her chair. "You have to ask?"

Greg shrugged his shoulders. "I've seen the evidence and I have to admit, there are similarities aside from the hairs."

"Similarities?" she was incredulous.

"You know I can't discuss evidence in an on-going investigation," he said, not wanting to answer her question.

"Still, even with _similarities_, how could you think I could do something like that?" she needed to know.

"Well," he started. "You've been through a lot recently." He paused.

"That's it?" she replied in the pause.

He sighed. "Quite honestly, if it hadn't been for the past record thing, I probably never would have thought it."

Her jaw dropped. She couldn't believe what she was hearing. "Well, I guess that answers the rest of my questions." She stood up and turned to walk out.

"You still haven't answered mine," he told her.

She turned back to face him, her cheeks red with anger. "If you have to ask, you don't deserve an answer."

"If you say so," he replied coldly.

She felt the tears start to well as her anger mixed with sadness. "I guess this really is good-bye, then."

"Yeah, I guess so," Greg said, his voice starting to crack.

She paused for a moment, waiting for him to say something else. When silence was all that ensued, she left. As she exited through the door, she ran into Sofia.

"Oh, sorry," she apologized as she quickly tried to wipe away any tears that had escaped.

"I was just looking for you," Sofia informed Alex. "I've got some more questions."

"Lead the way," Alex replied.

Once they were back in the interview room, Sofia started. "So, tell me about the surgical kit you have."

_Ahhh,_ she thought. _Must have something to do with the crime, Greg's similarity number one. _"Well, it was a gift from my grandmother when I graduated college," Alex told her. "She was hoping I would go on to Medical school."

"Medical school?" Sofia questioned. "I thought you got a degree in accounting?"

"Dual major, actually: Biology and Accounting. Grandma wanted me to be a doctor like her father, but when I graduated I decided to go with accounting and joined the Bureau."

"Ok," Sofia responded, jotting down a note. "But why does it appear used?"

Alex sighed. "I like to dissect things for fun. It's a stress reliever for me."

"Have you ever dissected a human?" Sofia asked.

"Not since college. You can't just go out and get one of those," Alex laughed a little, trying to lighten the mood. She was concerned about where this was going.

"So you do know human anatomy?" Sofia redirected the question.

"Yeah, why?" Alex answered.

Sofia pulled some photo out of the folder in front of her and pushed them across the table to Alex. Alex was horrified but the mutilated body.

"You think I could do that?" Alex looked at Sofia.

Sofia just shrugged. "So, let's talk about your stress relief," she continued with her questioning. "We also found a bottle of Valium."

Alex pinched the bridge of her nose. She couldn't believe this was happening. "Yes, doctor prescribed," she answered.

"What for?" Sofia asked.

Alex held up her casted arm. "Kidnapped, beaten almost to the point of death, threatened with a gun. Kinda makes it hard to sleep. But I haven't taken any of those in at least six weeks. The Bureau prefers you come to work alert."

Sofia jotted down some more notes. "So, let's talk about your job at the Bureau."

"Nothing to talk about," Alex responded. "I don't work for the Bureau anymore."

"That's right," Sofia remembered. "You quit and were on vacation for the last week."

"Yes, I was in Virginia until early this morning," Alex replied.

"Yeah, funny thing about that," Sofia started. "We didn't find any receipts."

Alex let out another sigh. "Probably because I paid cash for everything. Mineral is a small town and, ironically, I hate my movements being recorded by a ton of credit card purchases. But, you can and will find me on both my flights' manifestos."

"We'll check on it. Anyone who can verify what you did in Virginia?" Sofia continued.

Alex thought for a moment. "Well, the hotel clerk can verify when I checked in and out, but other than that, I don't know if anyone saw me. I really wasn't there to visit anyone. I just had some stuff to do."

"Stuff, like what?"

"Just…personal stuff. I visited my grandmother's grave. But last time I checked, the dead weren't allowed to be alibis," she replied. Greg's doubts were becoming clearer and clearer to her and Sofia's questions were becoming more and more worrisome.

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"Did you get a DNA match?" Catherine asked Mia. They had found hairs on the latest body and had turned them over to Mia as soon as they got back.

Mia nodded, a grim look on her face. "Same as the ones from before."

"Alex?" Catherine was dumfounded.

Mia only nodded again.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

After Alex's first round of questioning, Brass went out looking for Heather's full name and her boyfriend. He decided to start at the last place they'd all been, Viva.

Brass found out from one of the bartenders, Jude, that Heather's last name was James and her boyfriend was Craig Waldron. They were regulars and Jude knew Craig well. He also knew that Heather was very territorial. He remembered the fight between Alex and Heather

"It was crazy," Jude told Brass. "That chick," Jude pointed to the picture of Alex. "She was just sitting her waiting on a drink and Craig comes up and starts hitting on her. Then Heather comes over and is pissed that Craig is hitting on another woman."

Brass nodded. "What happened next?"

"So, Heather starts yelling at Craig and the other chick just ignores them both. I walked down to finish the chick's drink and when I come back, Heather grabs it and throws it on her."

"And what did the other woman do?" Brass asked, noting that Jude's story matched Alex's so far.

"She left," Jude replied.

"Where did she go?" Brass questioned.

"I didn't see," he responded. "But I didn't see her again. Heather and Craig stayed another hour or so and then left."

"Do you know where I can find Craig?" Brass asked.

Jude proceeded to give Brass Craig's address. After a few more questions, Brass determined Jude didn't have anything else to add. Brass thanked him and left to track down Craig.

About half an hour later Brass was at the address Jude had given him. He knocked twice and waited for an answer.

A few moments later the door opened and a man with spiked bleach blonde hair answered. "Yeah?"

"Are you Craig Waldron?" Brass asked the gentleman.

"That's me," Craig answered nonchalant.

"I'm Jim Brass with the LVPD," he showed Craig his badge. "I'd like to ask you a few questions. May I come in?"

"What's this about?" Craig asked.

"It's about your girlfriend, Heather James," Brass informed him.

"Well, if that bitch has gotten herself into more trouble, she can rot in a cell for all I care," Craig responded.

"It would really be better if we took this inside," Brass tried to get Craig to let him in.

Craig could see the seriousness in Brass's face. "Fine," he motioned Brass inside.

"So, are you saying you haven't seen Heather recently?" Brass asked.

"I haven't seen her in about a week," Craig told Brass.

"Would that be the night you two went to Viva together?" Brass tried to get clarification.

Craig nodded. "What happened? Did she and that other girl get into a fight or something outside the club? Because if so, I didn't see anything. They were friendly when I left."

Brass raised an eyebrow. "So you ran into the other woman outside the club?"

Craig nodded again. Brass handed him a photo line up with six pictures. "Is she pictured there?"

Craig pointed to Alex. "That's her. Lex, Lexa, Alex?" He paused for a moment, thinking. "Lexa, that's what she said. But she looked a little different."

"Different how?" Brass asked. He scribbled a note about her name.

"Well, I don't know how to describe it. Older, maybe? It was probably just the alcohol," Craig responded.

"So what happened outside the club?" Brass inquired.

"Well, as we were walking to the car, that woman came up to us. Only, like I said before, she looked a little different and was wearing different clothes. Since it had been a while since our altercation in the club, which I'm assuming you know about," he paused and Brass nodded. Then he continued, "I figured the clothes change was natural. Anyway, Lexa comes up to us and starts talking, trying to get us to come to another club. I'm beat, Heather's game. Heather leaves with that woman and I leave alone."

"And it didn't worry you that you haven't seen Heather since?" Brass asked, a little perplexed.

"Nope," Craig responded. "You see, sometime later that night I get a call from Heather chewing me out over my answering machine and breaking up with me."

"That didn't bother you?" Brass asked.

"Heather is hot, but there's no love lost. We were both just waiting for something better to come along," Craig explained.

"Do you have any reason to believe anything else happened between Heather and Lexa?" Brass questioned.

"Naw," Craig responded. "Lexa was cool in the club after Heather dumped the drink on her."

Brass asked Craig a few more questions, then handed him a card and told him to call if her remembered anything else. He thanked him for his time and left.

As he walked down the hall, he shook his head. Things were not looking good for Alex.

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Catherine sat at her desk, with reports and folders in front of her. She sifted through the tox reports, Brass's notes, DNA, and Alex's interview among other things. She was trying to reconcile in her own mind the weight of the information in front of her—information she couldn't deny.

Alex had had an altercation with one victim the night she disappeared and was the last person seen with the victim that night. Both victims were drugged with Diazepam; Alex had a prescription for Valium. Both were sliced open with a small, sharp instrument; Alex had a surgical kit with many scalpels. Both had their hearts removed; Alex knew human anatomy. And she couldn't forget, hairs that matched Alex's DNA had been found at both scenes.

She knew, if it were any other person, she'd be pleased with the evidence. But Alex, she just couldn't believe, even with all the evidence, could do it. She also knew, however, that it was not her place to assign guilt or innocence—only to process the evidence.

She heavy-heartedly picked up the phone and dialed.

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After another few phone calls and hours of questioning, Alex had had enough. She'd answered the same question it seemed like 10 times. She'd been up since early that morning and it was now late in the evening. She was tired and wanted to go home. She was here willingly, so she decided to leave.

"I've had it," Alex told Sofia. "You know where to find me if you have any _new_ questions." She stood up to leave.

"Alright," Sofia replied. "We appreciate your cooperation." Sofia stood as well.

Alex walked out of the room and into the hall. She stopped to stretch for a brief moment. In that moment, Sofia's cell phone rang.

As Alex started to walk down the hall, Sofia came out of the interview room. "Hold on a second, Alex."

Alex paused and turned to look at Sofia. "What now?"

Sofia removed the cuffs from her belt. "You have the right to remain silent."

Alex's jaw dropped and her eyes grew wide. She was being arrested. She couldn't believe it.

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Nick sat at the terminal, his leg shaking incessantly. He was still agitated from what he had heard and what he had done. He had been going into the break room when the exchange between Alex and Greg became audible. He stopped and stood just outside the door, listening, even though he knew he shouldn't.

He stood there, clenching his jaw. He couldn't believe what a jerk Greg was being. Granted, Alex omitting her past was a big deal. But to believe she was capable of murder, now that was a crime.

When he heard the conversation ending, he quickly walked away and out of sight. When he was sure Alex had gone, he went into the break room to confront Greg.

"What was that?" Nick demanded.

"What was what?" Greg replied, acting as if he didn't know to what Nick was referring.

"How could you be so mean to Alex?" Nick clarified.

"You were listening?" Greg was incredulous.

"This isn't about me, it's about Alex," Nick tried to shift the focus back to her.

"It's none of your damn business," Greg slammed his hands on the table and stood up.

"It is my business," Nick replied. "She's my friend and I care a great deal for her. She needs support right now."

"Yeah, I know all about your caring for her," Greg retorted.

A worried look passed over Nick's face. He wasn't sure if Alex had told Greg about the kiss. "Like I said, it's not about me."

"Oh, give the act up," Greg replied. "I know you've just been waiting for me to fuck up so you can come in and be her hero."

Nick let a little sigh of relief slip. _He doesn't know_, Nick thought. "I want her to be happy," Nick told Greg. "And she is happy because of you. Or at least she was."

Anger flashed through Greg's eyes. "You don't know a damn thing about my relationship with Alex."

"Maybe not," Nick conceded. "But I do know that by letting Alex walk out of here the way she did, you've just lost the best thing in your life."

Greg wanted to refute the statement Nick had just made, but deep down, he knew he'd never find anyone like Alex again. Her flaws are what made her beautiful. He had nothing left to say. He gave Nick one last angry look and the left.

As soon as Greg walked out the door, Nick mentally kicked himself. He knew Greg was right. He had been hoping Greg would screw up and Alex would turn to him for comfort. But now that it was actually happening, Nick didn't feel so good about it. Still, Alex deserved better than the way Greg was treating her.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

Alex wasn't sure how long she'd been in her cell. She had been so tired; after they booked her she slept. And whether she had slept for an hour or five, she didn't know. She was only aware she was being awakened by someone calling her name.

"Alex," he said.

"Go away," she replied, not even trying to recognize the voice. She couldn't see who it was as she was sleeping on her side, facing the wall. Moreover, she didn't care who it was; she didn't want to talk to anyone.

"Alex, please talk to me. I want to apologize." It was Greg.

She slowly turned over and looked at him. She noticed he looked tired and slightly disheveled. "So _now_ you want to apologize?" she snidely remarked.

He sighed. "I know, I was a jerk," he tried to explain.

She swung her legs over the bed and stood up. She walked over the cell bars so she could look him in the eye. "Damn right you were a jerk," she said to his face. "Among other things."

"I'm sorry," he replied.

"Whatever," she responded, turning her back to him. "You're probably glad I'm in here. You think I did it."

"Alex, I don't think you killed two people," Greg tried to assure her.

She spun around quickly and looked at him, her jaw hanging open. "What?"

"I said, I don't think you killed two—" he started to repeat himself.

"Two people?" She was incredulous. "What second person?"

Now it was Greg's turn to be stunned. "They didn't tell you about the second woman they found?"

Alex felt like she was about to faint. She walked over to the bed and sat down. She placed her head in her hands. It was like some bad nightmare.

"Alex?" Greg sounded concerned.

"Just leave me alone," she told him. She wasn't ready to forgive him and this new information had left her head reeling.

"Come on, Alex," Greg responded. "This is awkward, doing this through…" he made a hand gesture towards the bars.

"Awkward for who? You? You're still free. I'm the one behind them," she replied. Then she looked away and mumbled to herself, "I never should have bumped into you."

"What?" he heard part of her statement. "What about bumping into me?"

She rolled her eyes and then looked straight at him. "I said, 'I never should have bumped into you.'"

He felt a pang in his heart. "Well, accidents happen," he replied, with hurt in his voice.

She let out a laugh that was a good part cry. "It wasn't an accident. I can't believe you still think that." She was trying to be cruel. She too was hurt and angry.

His eyes widened. "What?" The thought had never occurred to him that their meeting was anything more than fate.

"Yeah," she replied, tears starting to run down her cheeks, her voice thick with her mixed emotions. "I saw you when you entered the club. I watched you for a couple hours and how you interacted with your friends. When I figured you were a nice guy, I bumped into you." She paused and then added, "Guess I was wrong."

Her last statement stung. He knew he'd been a jerk earlier, but this was too much. "Yeah, maybe so," he mumbled and then walked out.

Alex sat there, tears still running down her cheeks. She was mad at herself. She'd let her anger get the better of her—again.

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Sometime later Alex stood in the courtroom, lawyerless. She had called a friend from Virginia, but his plane was delayed. She figured she knew enough about the law to handle her own bail hearing and she didn't want to wait another minute to try and get out. But she pretty much figured she wasn't going to get bail anyway.

"How do you plead?" the judge asked from the bench, after being assured she wanted to represent herself for this hearing.

"Not guilty," she replied and then looked around the court, noticing Gil, Catherine and Nick towards the back. She was disappointed Greg wasn't there as well, but what did she expect?

"And how do the people feel about bail?" the judge asked the assistant district attorney, Paul Blakely.

"The people seek remand," Blakely responded. "Ms. Hart is accused of two very brutal murders—"

Alex interrupted, "Your honor, most of their evidence is circumstantial at best. I was in Virginia when Heather James was murdered and don't know anything about the second."

"Your honor," Blakely broke in. "We have DNA evidence. Ms. Hart was the last person to see one of the victims alive. She had a storage until in the facility where the other body was found."

Alex turned and looked in disbelief at Blakely. She couldn't understand where they were getting all this evidence.

Mr. Blakely continued, "She has no ties to the community and substantial assets that make her a flight risk. Bail would simply give her the opportunity to leave."

Catherine and Gil gave each other questioning looks. Neither knew of any assets that Alex had.

"Your honor," Alex addressed the judge. "I have no passport and do have ties to the community. My father is an established member of the community and Mr. Blakely knows that. And as for the assets, I wouldn't be opposed to putting them up for cash bail with just enough left for me to live on for the duration of the trail and pay my lawyer."

"Who's your father?" the judge asked, clearly considering bail.

Alex turned back and looked at Gil with a question in her eyes. He nodded.

"Gil Grissom, your honor," Alex replied.

"From the crime lab?" the judge questioned, surprised.

"Yes, your honor," she responded.

"I wasn't aware he had a daughter," the judge stated. "And how much for bail?"

"Half a million," Alex offered.

Gil, Catherine and Nick all dropped their jaws in unison.

"Your honor, you can't seriously be considering—" Blakely broke in.

The judge held up his hand. "Half a million cash, no bond," the judge stated and banged his gavel.

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By the next evening Alex was out and home. Her friend—and lawyer—Sam Rose, arrived a few hours after her hearing and got the bail taken care of. Her assets had been pretty liquid and were easy to turn in to cash. In fact, most of it was cash.

When Alex's grandmother died, she had a life insurance policy that Alex hadn't known about. Being the only relative, at least the only relative her grandmother spoke with, Alex was the beneficiary. When she found out how much it was, she was floored. Not to mention the profits from the sale of her grandmother's house, which she also found out her grandmother owned outright with no liens. After almost a year, she still hadn't figured out what to do with it and most of it was in accounts at various banks. The rest was in CDs, bonds, and a few short-term investments.

She was glad to be back in her own apartment. She hated jail. She hadn't been there in over a decade and she had hoped she'd never had to go back. However, after discussing her case with Sam, she knew the evidence against was pretty convincing. The only thing she could hope for was that the truth would win out.

She was in the kitchen making a sandwich when there was a knock on the door. She wasn't expecting anyone, so was leery. It seemed that the most recent knocks on her door all brought about bad news.

She looked out the peephole and smiled. Then she opened the door.

"Nick," she greeted him, giving him a quick hug. "What're you doing here?"

"Just checking up on you," he replied as she ushered him in.

"You're not supposed to be here," she scolded him.

He raised an eyebrow.

She let out a sigh. "Gil called and told me Ecklie doesn't want you guys having too much to do with me. Something about making the lab look bad."

Nick rolled his eyes. "Well, Ecklie can just fire me. I'm off the clock; I'll do what I want."

She smiled. "Thanks for standing behind me. I was just making a sandwich, do you want one?"

"Sounds good," he replied, following her into the kitchen.

As finished making her sandwich and started making his, they made some small talk. Both could tell the other was trying to avoid what they really want to talk about. Finally, Nick just couldn't hold his question in anymore.

"So, half a million?" he asked.

She knew the question had been coming. Gil had asked the same thing when they talked. "It's not a big deal, really," she replied.

"Not a big deal?" he smiled.

She returned his smile. "It was an inheritance from my grandmother," she explained.

"So you've had it for a while?" he asked.

She just smiled and handed him his sandwich across the counter.

"I can't believe you're here," she said, changing subjects and taking a bite of her sandwich.

"Why's that?" he questioned.

"Um, let's see. I lied about my past as a drug addict and juvenile delinquent. I attract bad luck. And, oh yeah, I'm being tried for two murders and might spent the rest of my life behind bars!" she told him, letting out a nervous laugh.

He laughed a little too. It was something in her tone that just sounded silly. Then he noticed the change in her demeanor.

He walked around the counter and looked her straight in the eyes. "Alex, you're past is just that, past. In the present, I believe your innocent and will do everything I can to help you. And as for your future," he took her hand in his. "I hope to spend as much of that as possible with you."

Alex felt her cheeks flush with color and a smile creep across her lips. Nick leaned in to kiss her, but she put her hand on his chest stopping him.

"Nick," she softly uttered, putting her head down. "I can't. Not now."

He dropped her other hand and took a step back, dejected. "Sorry," he mumbled, casting his eyes down.

"I mean, not _right_ now," she said.

He looked up at her with a questioning look on his face.

"For the previously mentioned reasons," she started to explain. "And lots of others, I don't want to do this now. My emotions are so mixed up right now. I want to make sure the next time I kiss you it's for the right reasons…not because I'm mad at Greg or need comforting."

Nick was still hurt, but knew she was right. He nodded.

She hated upsetting him and would have loved to have kissed him, but knew it wasn't fair to him. It stirred turmoil in her already rocky emotional state. "I wish they hadn't taken my Valium," she muttered. "Not that I've taken them in a while."

A light bulb went off in Nick's head. "How long has it been since you've taken them?" he asked.

"About a month, why?" she questioned, unsure of his reasons for wanting to know.

"Did they take a sample of your hair when they arrested you?" he didn't hear her question.

"Yeah. Why?" she still wasn't following.

"I've got an idea," he said. "I need to go."

"Oh, ok," she replied, a little taken aback but his sudden change. "Come by later?"

"When I can," he responded and left.

She sat down on her couch, finishing her sandwich. She flipped on the TV and tried to get lost in the show. She pondered what Nick was up to, but tried to keep the thoughts pushed out of her mind. She didn't know how much longer she'd get to spend at home and she wanted to enjoy whatever time she might have left.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

Sam Rose was a handsome man in his mid thirties. He and Alex had met a few years ago through a mutual friend at the Bureau who tried to set them up. There were no sparks for either of them, but they had remained good friends ever since, especially since before she'd moved to Vegas, Alex was doing Sam's taxes.

"So, be honest with me, how does the case look?" Alex asked Sam, even though she'd heard it before.

Sam rolled his eyes, repeating himself for the umpteenth time. "It doesn't look very good. They have your DNA, the Valium, your scalpel—"

Alex interrupted him, "But Valium is so common. Plus they didn't find any blood on the scalpel and it's not like it's a rare instrument."

"I know Alex," he replied. "But you have one and you know how to clean it to remove traces of blood. They have footprints, the witness, and let's not forget the storage unit."

Alex's bit her bottom lip, trying to find something in the evidence that didn't add up. "The footprints didn't match exactly! And what about the fact that I was in Virginia at the time of death for Heather James?"

Sam flipped through the file folder until he found what he was looking for. "They have the flight manifestos that prove you flew there and flew back, but no one saw you while you were in Virginia after you checked into your hotel. You didn't contact anyone." He poked her in the arm, jokingly hinting that she hadn't even called him.

"I know," she replied. "I had…stuff to do. I didn't want to be distracted. But, if I flew back I'd be on other flight manifestos. I'd have to show ID. Did they check for them?"

He flipped through some more papers. "Yeah, and your name didn't appear on any of them, but they are checking for possible aliases. But it's not like you have any fake IDs."

A look of guilt crossed over Alex's face. "Well…" she replied.

"What?" Sam asked, concerned.

She sighed and then hesitantly told him, "I do have a fake ID. Government issued, actually, from when I was undercover."

"Oh yeah, I remember that assignment," Sam interjected. "I didn't get to talk to you for like six months. What's the name? Would anyone recognize it?"

She dodged the first question. "I didn't use it! It doesn't matter if anyone does recognize it."

Sam believed Alex. She'd never lied to him. "Alright," he replied, assuring her of his belief. "Still, if it comes up, you may need to produce it."

"It's right he—" she stopped as she opened the box where she kept it. She started to dig through the box.

"Alex?" Sam asked.

"It's gone!"

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"It's right here," Sara said, pointing to a name on the page.

"Where?" Warrick replied, taking the paper from her.

"Lexa Corbett, Flight 4513," Sara replied, pointing out the line.

"How do you know that's her?" Warrick was curious and doubtful.

"I just…know," she told him, not wanting to relay the story of her trip to Mineral. "You know, if you can't separate your personal feelings from this case, you should asked to be reassigned."

Warrick was indignant at her implication. "I've only met her once. I think it's you who are letting feelings cloud judgment in this case."

Now Sara was cross. "What's that supposed to mean?" she grabbed the flight manifesto back from Warrick.

"It's no secret you don't like her. Why do you think Ecklie left you on this case?" he replied.

"I'd like to think it's because I'm a good CSI," she responded curtly.

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Alex was pacing around her apartment. She hadn't been able to settle herself since Sam left. Her ID from her undercover assignment was missing and it bothered her. She thought before maybe everything was a coincidence, but now she was sure she was being set up.

She knew she couldn't just sit around her apartment and remembered there was a band playing she had wanted to see. She decided she would go. Maybe the loud music would drown out her worry.

The club was packed, which was exactly what Alex was looking for. She tried to blend into the crowd, wearing jeans, a black baby tee, her Vans, and her hair in two pigtail braids. The angry grinding of the guitars matched her emotions. And when a mosh pit was started towards the front of the stage, Alex couldn't wait to join in.

After one particularly hard hit, Alex lost her balance and started to fall. Right before she hit the floor someone caught her. She turned to say thank you and paused when she saw whom it was.

Her eyes met Greg's and they both just stood there for a moment. Their stare was broken by the bodies slamming in to each of them. And that's when they started aiming for each other.

In some weird form of an apology, Alex and Greg would purposely run into each other. Trying each time to out do the other one. Until Alex once again lost her balance and fell into Greg, landing chest to chest.

She looked up into his eyes and he into hers. Then he smiled. She hadn't seen him smile in days. They both let out a laugh.

Greg grabbed her hand after she was steady and led her to the rear of the club. It was quieter there and he wanted to talk to her. A lot of his anger had been relieved by their moshing.

As they sat down next to each other, Alex leaned over and spoke in Greg's ear. "I'm sorry I've been a jerk. I should have told you the whole truth from the beginning."

He held her hand in his. "I over reacted," he apologized. "So how've you been?"

She looked into his eyes, wanting to say so much. And she wasn't sure if it was the music, the dancing or the alcohol, but what she wanted right now had nothing to do with words. She grabbed his shirt, pulling him closer and kissed him forcefully.

Greg was stunned, but excited, by the roughness in her usually soft kiss. This was a side of her he'd never seen. But he understood exactly what she was trying to tell him.

After their lips separated, he put his mouth next to her ear and whispered, "My place?"

She nodded and they left, walking so close you'd almost think they were one person.

Greg fumbled for his keys while outside his apartment. He was alternating between kissing Alex and trying to find the right key. He finally found it and opened the door. They nearly toppled each other getting inside. Alex kicked the door shut after they were both inside.

They continued to kiss, both growing more passionate with each exchange. Greg pulled her as close as he could; he had missed feeling her next to him in the last few days.

Greg had just started to untuck her shirt, when her phone rang. He had planned on ignoring it; his only focus was her. She, however, couldn't ignore it and reached for it in her back pocket.

"Don't," he said, putting his hand over hers.

"I have to. It might be Sam," she replied, pulling it out.

"Sam?" he questioned, giving her a playfully suspicious look.

"My lawyer," she laughed and then looked at the called ID. It wasn't Sam.

She hit a button to ignore the call, another to shut it off and slid it back in her pocket. Then she started to kiss him.

Greg stopped her. "Who was it?"

She smiled. She almost said Nick, but thought better of it. "Nnnnnnno one," she replied.

Greg let go of her. "It was Nick, wasn't it?" All his frustrations of the last couple days were coming back to him.

"It was no one," she assured him, putting her arms around his waist.

He removed her arms. He knew who it was; he just wanted her to tell him. "Damn it, Alex! Can't you just be straight with me?"

"Fine," she said in a calm voice, not wanting to add any extra emotion to the conversation. "It was Nick."

Greg rolled his eyes. "I can't believe this!"

"What?" she asked, slowing stroking his arm.

"Alex, he's in love with you. Surely you have to know this!" Greg was not calming down.

"No he's not," she refuted, but didn't even convince herself it was the truth.

He crossed his arms and cut through her with his stare.

She held up her hands in defeat. "Ok, yes, I know how he feels about me."

"When?" was all he said, but she knew what he was asking.

"When he picked me up from the airport," she reluctantly answered. Then, deciding she better tell him the whole truth added, "I accidentally kissed him and his feelings became obvious."

"Accidentally kissed him?" Greg was incredulous.

"Greg," she said softly, trying to remain calm. "I went to give him a peck on the cheek but he turned his head and it became an actual kiss."

Greg gave her a disbelieving look. "Yeah, I'm sure that's they way it happened."

"Come on," Alex responded. "I'm telling you the truth. Please, believe me."

"Alex, I just don't know what to think anymore," he told her, running a hand through his hair.

"You're not the only one," she blurted out, not realizing the implications of her words until after she spoke them.

The anger flared in Greg's eyes. "Get out," he ordered.

"Greg," she tried to clarify. "I didn't mean—"

"I know what you meant," he informed her. "Now get out."

She started to say something else, but knew Greg wasn't listening to her. She walked over to the door and reached for the doorknob. Just as she was about to turn the knob, he touched her shoulder. She hoped he'd reconsidered in the few brief moments that had passed.

"Don't forget this," he said, handing her the key to her apartment.

She looked down at it, then back up at him. "Greg," her lip started to tremble as she tried to hand it back to him.

"Out," he demanded and she obeyed.

The tears were streaming down her cheeks as she walked to her car. After she unlocked it, she dropped into the driver's seat and let loose her tears. After a couple minutes, she calmed herself down enough for her to drive. She started the car and left.

As she drove home, she fumbled with her cell phone. She really shouldn't have shut it off. If Sam needed her and didn't get a hold of her, she'd be in trouble.

As the phone came to life, it beeped, indicating that there was a message. _Nick must have left it,_ she thought, entering in the pass code for her voicemail. She was right.

"Hey Alex, it's Nick. On a break, just wanted to make sure you're ok. I'll talk to you later," Nick's message said.

She erased the message and then, in a fit of anger, threw the phone down unto the passenger side floorboard. She was mad at Nick, Greg, herself. So mad, in fact, that she didn't notice the car following her. So blinded by her sadness, she didn't notice the woman getting out of her car in the parking lot. So oblivious to anything but her own pain, she didn't even see the woman following her to her front door.


	10. Chapter 10

Author's note: The test performed in this chapter is real, however, in reality it cannot be performed with as small a sample as is indicated by this story. Please excuse my boo-boo.

Chapter 10

Nick left Alex's apartment and headed for the lab. He wasn't due in to work for a few hours, but what he wanted to do couldn't wait.

He pulled the evidence from the murders and began to examine the hair samples that were collected. He had remembered from the report something that hadn't sat right with him.

He measured all the hair samples again. The hairs from Heather James and from Erin Foster, the second victim found, but first chronologically, were the same length. Nick noted that this was odd since Doc Robbins had put the time of deaths two weeks apart. In two weeks, the hairs should have grown approximately half a centimeter.

Next Nick measured the hair sample that was taken from Alex when she was arrested. It was a full centimeter longer than either of the crime scene samples.

Nick knew the DA would explain the length differences away, so he decided to do a drug test on the samples also. Well, he decided to have tox do the drug test. If he were to perform it himself, the validity of it might come in to question.

Before he got the results, he was sent out to a scene. The scene was a mess and so he didn't get back to the lab until after 3 am, but the results were waiting for him. The samples from the crime scenes both had Diazepam with in the first centimeter of length meaning she had taken it with in the month before the hair was separated from Alex's head. In the sample taken from Alex at her arrest, Diazepam didn't show up until the second centimeter. This coincided with Alex's statement that she hadn't taken any Valium in the last month. Nick was now sure the hairs at the crime scene were planted.

He wanted to talk to Alex about the evidence and without thinking about what time he was, he called her cell phone. After a few rings her voicemail picked up and he left a message.

"Hey Alex, it's Nick. On a break, just wanted to make sure you're ok. I'll talk to you later," he spoke into his phone and then hung up.

He was hopeful she would call back soon, but for now he would take his findings to Grissom.

He finally found Grissom in the video lab with Archie. They had found some video from Viva's parking lot and had located Heather James and her boyfriend, Craig Waldron.

As Nick walked in, he saw the video. A woman, who looked like Alex wearing dark pants and a backless shirt, was talking to Heather and Craig. But when she turned her back to the camera, Nick noticed something, or rather, noticed something missing.

"That's not Alex," Nick told them.

"Nick, I don't want it to be her anymore than you do, but—" Grissom started.

Nick interrupted, "It's not her." Then to Archie he said, "Roll the footage back to where she turns her back to the camera."

Archie did as Nick asked.

"Right there," Nick said pointing to the frame. "Alex has a tattoo on her lower back. That woman doesn't have one."

Grissom and Archie both studied the woman's back for a moment and then nodded in agreement with Nick: no tattoo.

"You're sure Alex has a tattoo?" Grissom asked.

"Definitely," Nick replied. "And this should convince you further it's not her." He handed Grissom the folder with the results of the hair tests.

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The ringing of Alex's cell phone cut its way through the darkness in her mind. It at first didn't register what the noise was; all she knew was it was causing her head to throb.

She opened her eyes only to quickly shut them again. It seemed every light in the room was on. She blindly reached towards the sound of her phone and felt around until she located it.

"Hello?" her voice was hoarse.

"Alex?" the voice questioned.

"Yeah," she replied, only half awake, trying to figure out who it was.

"Are you ok?" the voice sounded concerned.

"I'm apparently alive," she responded. "So I can't be that bad. Why?"

"Alex," she finally recognized the voice as Nick's. "It's 9 pm. Where are you? No one's seen or heard from you all day."

Alex bolted upright on the bed, which caused her head to swim. She groaned and put her hand on her forehead. Then she tried opening her eyes again, this time with some success.

"Alex?" Nick wasn't sure if she was still there.

"Yeah, I'm here," she said. "But I'm not sure where here is."

She looked around the room, squinting from the bright light, not recognizing anything. She could tell from the set-up though, that she was in a hotel.

"What?" Nick asked.

"I appear to be in a hotel but I don't know how I got here."

"Excuse me?" he wasn't sure he heard her correctly.

"Nick, I have no idea what's going on," she told him, as she unsteadily stood. "I went to see a band last night, ran into Greg, went home and then…." Her voice trailed off as she tried to remember what happened after she got home.

"And then?" Nick tried to get her to continue.

"And then I woke up here," she paused as she fumbled towards the desk where the phone was. She wanted to find the name of the hotel. "And here is apparently The El Cortez, room 315."

"I'm on my way," Nick responded.

"No, it's ok," Alex didn't know if there was anyone else here. She didn't want Nick to walk in on something he shouldn't. "I can get a cab," she said as she walked towards what she assumed was the bathroom.

"Alex, I'll come get you," he insisted. "I need to talk to you anyway."

She was right about the bathroom and flipped on the light. Its brightness caused her to look towards the floor. She turned the faucet on, wanting to splash some water on her face.

She sighed. She didn't want or need Nick coming to her rescue—again. "Seriously, I'm—" she stopped as she looked in to the mirror and saw a terrible reflection.

She turned around, not believing the reflection she was seeing. But as she turned around, she found it was true.

Her mouth fell open in shock and a small scream escaped. She dropped her phone as she moved her hand to cover her mouth.

"Alex? Alex?" she could hear Nick's voice getting softer as the phone fell to the floor.

She collapsed to the floor staring the horrible sight in front of her. Lying in the bathtub full of red water was a dark-haired woman. There was blood smeared on the walls of the shower.

She reached for the phone. "Nick," her voice was shaky. "Bring the police, the coroner and a couple CSIs." She hung up the phone and started to cry.

Nick had started to ask her what she was talking about when he heard the beep that indicated she had hung up. He was confused and worried and did as she asked.

Alex was sitting on the edge of the bed, trying to remember the night before when Nick knocked on the hotel room door. She stood up, calling out to them.

"I'm coming," her voice was steadier than she thought it would be.

After nearly falling twice, she finally made it to the door. She opened it to Nick standing square in the doorway. Behind him were Sophia, David, Sara and Warrick. Brass had come too, but he was at the front desk, interviewing the clerk.

Nick's concern grew as he saw the ragged Alex answer the door. Her clothes were stained with what appeared to be blood, her expression was blank, and she didn't look steady on her feet.

"Are you ok?" his trepidation evident.

As he spoke to Alex, Warrick, Sara and Sophia began to search the room. David stood to the side, not sure what to do without a body.

"Bathroom," Alex stated flatly, lifting her arm to point.

The quartet headed towards the grisly scene as Nick tended to Alex.

"Are you ok?" he repeated his question, trying to get her to focus.

This time she heard him. "I'm…I'm…" she stammered, looking him square in the face. Then she started to mumble, "I didn't do it. I couldn't have done it. Did I do it? I couldn't have done it."

He wanted to hold her, but knew he couldn't. He might contaminate the evidence on her clothing. Instead, he held her hand. "You didn't do it," he reassured her.

She calmed down as his reassurance. "There was a knock," she said.

"A knock?" Nick questioned, not understanding.

"I…I got home and right as I shut the door, there was a knock," Alex clarified.

"Last night?"

Alex nodded. "After I got back from Greg's there was a knock on the door. But I can't…remember opening the door."

Nick's heart sank a little when Alex said 'Greg's place.' She had mentioned running in to him before, but he didn't realize they'd spent the evening together. However, he was glad she was remembering a little bit more.

Sophia, David, Warrick and Sara each looked in the bathroom in turn. Warrick went in first, taking photos of the room. Sara followed, collecting anything of interest that she found.

After carefully documenting the body, David came in and examined the body.

"Well, she's cool to the touch," David observed. Reaching into his bag, he pulled out his thermometer. "And judging by liver temp, she's been dead about 6 hours," he added reading the thermometer.

"I've got the bathroom, Sara, why don't you go collect Alex's clothing?" Warrick suggested.

Sara nodded and walked out into the main room with Sophia following behind her. Sara watched as Nick tried to comfort Alex and couldn't help but wonder if there was more to his caring. Everyone knew Nick had a big heart, but the look in his eyes—it said something different. Sara rolled her eyes at the thought. She was so beyond fascination with Alex.

As Sara was eying Nick and Alex, the front desk clerk at the hotel was eying a picture of Alex. Brass asked some preliminary questions and then showed the picture to the young woman.

"So is this the woman you saw early this morning?" Brass questioned.

The woman stared at the picture and slowly nodded. "Yeah, that looks like her, but don't you have a more recent picture?"

"More recent?" Brass was unsure what the woman meant. The picture Brass had was Alex's mug shot.

"Yeah," she replied. "I mean, this looks like her, but like 10 years ago."

Her statement brought pause to Brass. He remembered Craig Waldron had said the woman who approached Heather and him in the parking lot looked older than the Alex they had met in the bar. Brass had dismissed his comment previously because he thought Craig's alcohol soaked memory was playing tricks on him. After all, Craig had picked out the picture of Alex. But now that a second person had made the same statement, he was beginning to wonder.

"So, if I were to tell you this picture was taken last week?" Brass asked, holding his hands palm up in question.

The woman looked at the photo again. "If that's her last week, I'd have to say she's either had one hell of a week, or it's not her."

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She sat in a bar, somewhere in Vegas. She was sucking down beers like she hadn't had a drop to drink in years and chastising herself. She knew she had talked to the hotel clerk for too long. But she was so pretty and young. Just like her—the woman with whom her husband had cheated.

She had stood there, debating whether or not to make the clerk her next victim or stick with the woman she and Alex had picked up at the bar. Well, Alex didn't really do much of the picking up; she had been too drunk. It was a pain in the ass trying to get two drunken women in a car and then in a hotel room. If she could have convinced the clerk to come up, it would have been a lot easier. But the clerk didn't bite and could now probably distinguish between her and Alex.

She drank another beer, wondering what her next step should be. Her only hope now was that the drugs she had slipped Alex worked and she wouldn't remember last night because if she did, the jig was up. Alex knew her face, knew her name. And that information could put her behind bars for a very long time.


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

"I'm going to need your clothes," Sara informed Alex, as she walked towards her.

"I-I figured," Alex stammered. "But I don't have anything else to change into."

Sara reached into the bag she had with her and pulled out a set of coveralls. "You can change into these," she said, handing them to Alex.

"Mind giving us a little privacy?" Alex asked Nick, who hadn't moved from her side.

"Oh, yeah," he replied and walked into the hotel hall.

"You guys stay in the bathroom for a minute," Sara called to Warrick and David.

As Alex removed her clothes, Sara noticed the tattoo on Alex's back. "Nice tat," Sara remarked, causing Sophia to turn and look at it as well. "How long have you had it?"

Alex, not thinking anything of the question, responded, "About eight years. Got it in Myrtle Beach on a Spring Break."

Sophia made a note about the date of the tattoo. Both Sara and Sophia were aware of the video and Nick's observation. It was the reason Sara asked in the first place.

As Alex handed her clothes to Sara, Sara observed wet spots on Alex's cast. "What's that?" Sara asked.

Alex looked at her cast. "I don't know."

She went to touch the spots, but Sara stopped her. "I'll do that," Sara said, getting out a swab to take a sample of the matter. It tested positive as blood. "I'm going to need that," Sara pointed to Alex's cast.

"My cast?" Alex questioned.

Sara nodded.

Alex shrugged. "Ok. I was going to get it taken off in a couple days, anyway. Saves me a trip to the doctor."

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She ran her fingers through her now black hair. _Damn that Alex,_ she thought. _She had to go and dye her hair._ And in turn, she had to dye her hair black too. She hadn't planned on it. She was sure Alex wasn't going to get bail and so the trail would have to stop at two. But when Alex did manage bail, she had to be prepared. She could get one last one in.

She never thought she'd get the opportunity to kill even one, actually, so three was a real treat. The first had been planned, for a long time. The first, Erin, was the one true victim. She was the one her husband had cheated with. Erin was the one she wanted dead, but afterward, she had so much pleasure from it, she wanted to do it again. And after number two, the excitement and her hubris had gotten the better of her and she decided on number three. _Damn pride, _she scolded herself.

However, until she met Alex, she had been drowning her anger in alcohol. But the first day she met Alex, she knew she had found the perfect scapegoat. She knew Alex had three strikes against her: the resemblance, the knowledge to do it, and a past very few people knew about.

It was chance that she and Alex even met. As she knew the story, Alex had been kidnapped and nearly killed. And when Alex got out, she needed some assistance, that's where she came in. She was working as an in-home aide.

When Alex first opened the door, Jana Sparkman couldn't believe the resemblance. They were the same height, same hair color, same skin tone, and same face shape. Of course, Jana was older, wore glasses most of the time, and had her hair in a bun, so the resemblance wasn't really apparent to anyone else. But with her hair done just right and only a passing glance, a person would be hard pressed to tell the difference. However, Alex never noticed it. She was so doped up most of the time, but who could blame her after all she'd been through?

Jana also soon learned Alex had the knowledge to commit the murders. She had a degree in biology and a surgical kit. Not to mention the subscription for Valium, which would be perfect for knocking a person out. Especially when the supposed killer is hindered by a cast. Things were shaping up for Jana.

Then, the clincher came. One day while Jana was picking up, she found a manila folder with some articles in it. From the photos accompanying the article Jana could tell it was Alex even though the story mentioned the girl's name was Lexa Corbett. Jana was going to ask Alex about it, but she was asleep and Jana didn't want to wake her. So she left, and plan was solidified.

Of course, that was the day there was a second attempt on Alex's life and she had to be a little more careful. Alex stayed with a friend for three weeks and this made Jana's plan a little more difficult. However, she convinced Alex she was still needed. So Jana was still helping her out and had started to collect her evidence—hairs, Valium, mannerisms, the ID, clothing styles, etc.—right under everyone's nose.

But now her careful planning had gone to shit. She'd gotten too caught up in her own grandeur. She didn't want to leave Vegas though. Watching Alex's trial was going to be half of the fun. Now she didn't know what she was going to do.

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Alex once again found herself in an interrogation room. This time, however, it was Sam who was with her. The questioning from Sophia hadn't started yet.

"What happened, Alex?" Sam asked. "I thought I told you to stay home."

Alex, still in the CSI coveralls that Sara had given her after taking her clothes, rolled her eyes. She hated being scolded like a child. "I couldn't sleep. I needed to get out, so I went out."

"And?" Sam was impatient with her.

"And I ran into Greg. We went back to his place."

Sam gave her a questioning look.

"Nothing happened," she told him.

"Didn't think so," Sam half-joked.

"What's that supposed to mean?" she replied, giving him a playful poke.

He just smiled wider and shrugged his shoulders.

A big stupid grim crossed Alex's face. She knew what he was getting at and it was true; she couldn't deny it. Then she shook her head and the smile off her face, trying to get back to the real subject at hand. "Anyway, he kicked me out after about 20 minutes and then I went home. There was a knock on the door and then…" she shut her eyes tight, trying, once again, to remember.

She pictured herself that night. She was so angry by the time that she got home, that she had kicked the door shut. She remembered as soon as she heard it slam, there was a knock and it startled her. She couldn't imagine who would come by this late at night. She opened the door and saw…herself.

"And then?" Sam tried to end her silence.

"Every time I think about opening the door, I see myself when I open it. But I know it's not me," Alex tried to explain.

"Ok, let's go back. Greg kicked you out?" Sam asked.

Alex sighed. "Yes, we got into a fight."

"Didn't you guys break up a few days ago?" Sam tried to clarify in his own mind.

Alex nodded. "When we ran into each other, we _really_ ran into each other," Alex started.

"Huh?" Sam didn't understand.

"Moshing," Alex responded. "We were moshing. And, I dunno, it…"

"Re-ignited the flames of passion?" Sam laughed.

Alex gave a wry smile. "Something like that, and so we went back to his place. But, before anything really happened my phone rang and we got into a fight over who it was."

"Who was it?" Sam questioned.

Alex paused. She debated how much Sam actually needed to know. The answer she came up with: everything. "It was Nick."

"Nick?"

She sighed again. "Yes, Nick, the guy who saved my life."

Sam nodded; he remembered that story.

"And to make a long story short, Greg was jealous for all the right reasons, decided he'd had enough and kicked me out," she said.

"So, you were angry?" he asked.

She gave him a dumbfounded look. She didn't know if he was asking what she thought he was. "You think I could have done this?"

He held up his hands. He wasn't trying to make her defensive. "No, I don't. But these are things they will ask you."

"Yes, I was angry. But like I said, I went home and someone came by," she replied.

"And you don't remember who?"

"Like I said, I just see myself, but it's just my mind wanting to put someone behind the door," Alex told him.

Sam remembered something he'd read in Brass's notes from earlier that evening. He flipped through the folder looking for them.

"What are you looking for?" Alex asked.

He held up his hand, motioning for her to wait. When he found what he was looking for, he spoke. "Right here," Sam replied, handing her the page.

She read the page Sam handed her. "Wait, the clerk said it was someone who looked like me, but older?"

Sam nodded. "Maybe it _was_ you."

Alex once again thought back to last night with the idea that the person behind the door might be someone that looked like her. This time when she opened the door in her mind, she saw her. And it was the key that unlocked the entire night's events.


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

Alex sat in the interrogation room, her memory finally coming back to her. She had gone home, upset over her fight with Greg. She had gotten home and slammed the door. It seemed no sooner had the door latched then there was a knock.

She wasn't thinking and opened the door without first checking who it was. The woman on the other side smiled. It took Alex a moment to recognize her; her hair color was different and she wasn't wearing glasses.

"Jana," Alex was surprised. She hadn't seen Jana in about three weeks. "What are you doing here?"

Jana blushed, feigning embarrassment. "I'm sorry to stop by so late. I was visiting a friend," she paused, pointing off into the complex. "And as I was walking towards the car, I noticed you coming back. You seemed upset and so after debating for a few minutes, I decided to see how you were doing."

"Oh," Alex sighed, pretending to push a stray hair out of her eye, but was really wiping away her tears. "I'm…I'm alright."

Jana placed her hand on Alex's arm. "That bad, huh?" she was trying to be sympathetic.

Alex fought hard not to break down. Between Greg, Nick, the arrest, alcohol and just everything, she was an emotional wreck. Her bottom lip started to quiver. "It's been a rough week."

"I was about to go get a drink, want to come?" Jana replied, smiling a little.

Alex thought about the time and the fact the she was out on bail. But ultimately decided, she didn't care. She wanted someone to listen and Jana seemed more than willing. "Yeah," Alex nodded.

Jana drove them to a nearby bar and they started to drink. At one point, Alex remembered feeling very strange and stumbled out towards the car with Jana following close behind. As they got to the car, Alex fell to her knees and puked. And that's when she saw Jana's shoes. They were the exact same pair Alex had—the same pair that had left the footprints.

Alex looked up at Jana after staring at the shoes for a few minutes. Jana gave her a wicked smile. Jana then leaned down and Alex felt a slight pinch in her arm. A few moments later her head went fuzzy and she woke up in the hotel to Nick's call.

"Dammit," Alex swore, her eyes still closed.

"What?" Sam asked, curious. He had hoped Alex's silence indicated she had remembered something.

"Jana," Alex replied, opening her eyes.

"Jana?"

"Yes, Jana," Alex stated.

"Who's Jana?" Sam clarified his question.

Alex sighed. "Jana was the in-home aide who helped me out after I got out of the hospital. And she's the one who came to my door last night."

Sam raised his eyebrows. "Oh?"

Alex nodded. "I think I should talk to Sophia now."

Sam walked out into the hall and got Sophia. After she came in, Alex told Sophia her remembrance of the night before. Sophia was a little skeptical, but it made sense. There were discrepancies with the evidence. And the hotel clerk seemed sure that the person she saw wasn't Alex.

"You know you're still going to have to spend the night in jail," Sophia informed Alex.

"Yeah," she sighed. "I figured as much."

"Do you have any pictures of," Sophia looked down at her notes, "Jana Sparkman?"

Alex tapped her fingers on the table. "Um, I think so. There are three rolls of film that I just had developed sitting on my bookshelf. I haven't had time to look through them yet, but I'm sure there's a picture or two of her in there."

"I'll send someone to pick them up," Sophia replied and then looked at her watch. It was about midnight, but she didn't think what she had to do could wait. "And I guess I have a visit to make."

She stood up and motioned for Alex to do the same. She and Sam stood.

"Do you really have to cuff me?" Alex asked.

Sophia paused for a moment, thinking about the request. "I guess not," she replied.

Sophia opened the door and ushered Alex into the hall. While Alex was saying good-bye to Sam, Nick came around the corner and saw the group. He walked over to them.

"Hey again Nick," Alex greeted him. It had only been about two hours since she'd last seen him.

"How're you doing?" Nick asked, glad to see Alex was more alert.

"Eh, I'm alright," she replied, her voice a little shaky at the thought of returning to jail. Then she remembered Sam. "Oh, this is Sam Rose, an old friend and my lawyer. Sam this is Nick."

Sam extended his hand to Nick. "Nice to meet you."

"Nice to meet you too," Nick replied, shaking his hand. He turned to say something to Alex, but didn't get the chance.

"Now that we're all friends, come on, Alex," Sophia said, grasping her arm.

"Gotta go," Alex said and started to follow Sophia.

Before they got two steps down the hall, Alex turned and broke free from Sophia's grasp. She threw her arms around Nick and hugged him tightly. It was her thank you for believing in her, for looking deeper into the evidence.

Nick was a little taken aback, but gladly welcomed the hug. He held her tightly for a moment. And in the moment, Greg came upon the scene.

Greg stopped mid-step. His jaw stiffened and his face flushed with anger. He couldn't believe they were doing _that_ and right in the middle of the hall.

Alex was the first to see Greg. She quickly let go of Nick and stared, caught like a deer in headlights. Nick turned his head to see what Alex was looking at. When he saw Greg and the look on Alex's face, he knew Greg knew everything.

Greg shot daggers at the both of them. He wanted nothing more than to go up to Nick and punch him. But he knew it wouldn't accomplish anything productive. He started back to walking and moved down the corridor. He brushed right past the quartet without a word, but made sure his shoulder connected with Nick's rather hard. He then rounded the corner, moving out of sight. All Alex could do was watch him; she didn't know what to say.

Alex's bottom lip started to quiver. "Let's go," she said in barely above a whisper.

Nick didn't know what to say either. He took the hit from Greg, knowing he probably deserved more for kissing Alex. He didn't say anything as she left. He stood there, next to Sam, both men watching a woman who's heart had been broken all over again.

After making sure Alex was in her cell, Sophia drove to the address Alex had given as Jana's apartment. She was hoping Jana was still there and still up.

As Sophia went to see about Jana, Sara went to Alex's house to get the pictures. After bringing them back to the lab, she began to look through them. She didn't know what Jana looked like, so she pulled out every picture that contained a person she didn't recognize.

The pictures were a wide array of people and scenery. Sara looked briefly at the pictures of the ocean and some old houses. She looked a little longer at the pictures of Greg, some of which had Alex in them as well. They were both smiling or kissing in their joint pictures. It was hard to believe they now could barely stand talking to each other.

Other pictures she studied contained Nick. The smile on his face betrayed the feelings he was trying to hide. Sara would have been amazed to know that Alex wasn't aware of Nick's feelings until just a few days ago. To Sara, the look in his eyes in the pictures said it all.

The pictures she looked at longest were those that contained Grissom. The smile on his face in some of the pictures was one she'd never seen. And she was jealous that someone else could bring it out. There was one picture in particular that caught her eye. It was simply a close up of Grissom with that smile on his face, but it touched Sara to her soul. She thought about keeping it, but the CSI in her knew she couldn't tamper, even ever so slightly, with evidence.

She placed the ten or so pictures with people she didn't recognize in a separate envelope. She set them aside to ask Alex about in the morning. For now, she had other evidence to process from the hotel.

Nick decided to track down Greg. He knew it wasn't going to be an easy confrontation, especially after the shoulder check. He knew, however, that he had to do it. Greg was his friend and he had kissed his friend's girlfriend.

He found Greg sitting in the back of the lab, looking over some samples. Greg heard Nick's footsteps and looked up, not knowing whom it was.

"What do you want?" Greg seethed.

"To apologize," Nick replied, calmly.

"I think it's a little late for that," Greg said, the ice almost palpable.

"Greg, I am sorry. I wasn't think when I…" Nick's voice trailed off. It seemed odd to say it out loud, to Greg.

"When you kissed my gir—Alex?" Greg finished Nick's thought. Then standing to look at Nick eye to eye, Greg added his own thought, "Oh you were thinking alright, just not with your brain."

"I deserved that," Nick conceded. He hadn't been thinking with his brain, he'd been thinking with his heart. "I overstepped my bounds. I broke the cardinal rule of friendship."

"Damn right you did," Greg answered. "And as of right now, there is no more friendship. The only relationship we now have is coworkers." Greg started to leave, once again brushing past Nick.

"Greg," Nick called after him. "Greggo. I don't want out friendship to end like this."

Greg turned around. "Too bad. It's because of you that it _is_ ending like this...at all." He turned back around and walked out, leaving Nick alone with his guilt.


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13

Jana had decided her best course of action was to get out of town. She was rushing around her apartment packing when there was a knock on the door. She was too consumed with her task to think too deeply about who was at the door. So she didn't give a second thought to opening it.

As the door came open, she saw Sophia and Warrick standing there. When she saw the badges, she instinctively shut the door before anyone could say a word. Then she swore under her breath. _Go ahead; make yourself look guilty,_ she scolded herself.

Warrick and Sophia exchanged a look to confirm both had just seen what they thought they did. Both would have thought the brief glimpse was of Alex, but they both knew she was locked in a cell. Sophia was about to knock again, when the door reopened.

"Can I help you?" Jana asked.

"Are you Jana Sparkman?" Sophia questioned.

Jana paused, trying to think of a good lie, but nothing came. She never had been any good at lying; it's why she wanted a patsy to begin with. "Yes, I'm Jana. Can I help you?"

Sophia smiled only slightly, trying to seem friendly. "I'm Detective Sophia Curtis and this is Warrick Brown from the Crime Lab. We were wondering if we could talk to you for a few minutes."

Jana looked at her watch and then back up at Sophia. She was trying to buy herself a few moments so she could figure something out. She knew they only reason they could be here is that Alex remembered something. "S-sure," she replied, stepping out of the door and closing it behind her. She didn't want to invite them in; they'd see the bags.

Sophia was a little taken aback that Jana stepped out of the door. "Wouldn't you be more comfortable doing this inside?"

As Jana stood there, Sophia took a closer look at her. She could see the differences between Alex and Jana. Jana's face betrayed her age and their eyes and mouth were slightly different. Jana also didn't have the scar on her cheek like Alex. But she could definitely see how someone might mistake one for the other.

Jana looked back at the door and then once again towards Sophia. She let out a small sigh. She knew it was better to do it inside where her neighbors couldn't see. "Alright," she finally said, opening the door and ushering them inside.

Sophia and Warrick noticed the bags sitting beside the couch. "Are you going somewhere?" Sophia asked.

Jana picked up the bags and then took them down the hall. She disappeared with them into a room and coming back she said, "Oh, I'm going to visit some family." She stood leaning against the wall with her back facing the hall.

Sophia could tell she was lying. "Ok, well, we'll try not to take up too much of your time. So, let's get right down to business. Where were you late last night, early this morning?"

Warrick stood next to Sophia, letting her speak. He looked around the room, trying to see if anything might be out of place. After meeting Jana, he realized Alex might really be innocent.

_Damn it,_ Jana thought. _Alex did remember._ "Home, watching TV," she hesitantly responded.

"Anyone who can verify it?" Sophia questioned. She could see the anxiety in Jana's face.

Jana shrugged. "Sorry, I haven't been very social since the divorce." As the words left her mouth, she knew she had said too much. She switched positions, putting one arm behind her.

Sophia picked up on the way Jana said 'divorce' and the change in her position. "When did you divorce?"

Jana swore at herself silently. "Oh, it's been about a year," she replied, trying to dismiss the subject.

"What happened?" Sophia asked.

Jana had gotten impatient, more so with herself than Sophia. "Am I in some sort of trouble?"

Sophia shook her head. "Just some standard questions. So, no one can verify where you were last night?"

Jana paused again, thinking. Only this time she wasn't trying to think of a lie; she was wondering if she pulled her gun would they fire if she didn't. She looked at the door and then back to where Sophia and Warrick were. She didn't know if she could make it.

"Jana?" Sophia interrupted her thoughts. "Is there anyone who can verify?"

Jana sighed and stuck her free hand in her pocket, making sure she had her keys. "Sorry, I'm trying to think if anyone came by." She gave a weak smile, grasping the handle of her gun behind her back. This was not the way she wanted it to end.

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After his conversation with Greg, Nick wanted to speak with Alex. It was obvious Greg knew that he had kissed Alex and it left Nick wondering what his response with Alex had been.

"I can't believe they have you in here," Nick said, as he came up to her cell.

Alex held up her hands and shrugged. "Formalities. Plus, from what I've been explained, the hair evidence can be explained away. _I _could have planted it." She laughed a little.

"You know they found enough drug residue in your system to prove you were unconscious for most of today," he informed her.

She nodded. "You still really shouldn't be here," Alex told him. "It's an ongoing investigation."

He rolled his eyes. "I know. I just…had a conversation with Greg and needed to talk to you."

"Oh," Alex grimaced. She could guess how badly the conversation went.

"So he knows," Nick responded.

Alex nodded. "I had to tell him. We were…interrupted by your call." She saw the look of hurt on his face. "Not like that," she tried to reassure him, not understanding why she felt the need to explain. "We weren't…didn't…haven't…anyway, he wanted to know who it was. I told him and we got into an argument over it. I told what happened and he kicked me out."

Nick shook his head. "That jerk."

"He's not a jerk," Alex defended Greg. "He was just being human."

Nick couldn't believe after all that had happened, she was still defending him. Then, something struck him about what she had said. "Wait, haven't what?"

Alex blushed and quickly looked down. "It's…I…just…"

"Ohhh, ok." Nick understood without her having to say the words.

She looked back up at him and tried to change the subject. "So what happened during your conversation?"

Nick frowned. "I have one less friend."

"I'm so sorry, Nick," Alex replied. "He's taking his anger at me out on you."

"Alex," Nick said softly, trying to fight the emotion welling up inside as the reality of the situation sunk in. "I'm the one who kissed you. I betrayed our friendship. He has a right to be mad at me."

Alex looked him straight in the eye and shook her head. She could see the tears threatening to escape. She wanted to say so much but wasn't sure how to express it. Before she could figure it out, Nick's phone rang.

"Stokes," he answered, trying to keep his voice steady.

Alex could hear the voice on the other end, but not what it was saying.

"Alright, I'll be there," he responded to the voice and then hung up his phone. "I have to go," he told her.

"Ok," she replied. "You know where I'll be." She gave him a weak smile.

He returned her weak smile and left. She placed her head in her hands and let out a few silent sobs. After all the pain and heartache she caused, she was beginning to wonder why she'd ever come to Vegas to begin with.

Elsewhere in Vegas, Jana was wondering how she was going to get out of Vegas. Her hand was wrapped around the handle of her pistol, but there were still two people between her and the door. And a cop killer she was not.

She cursed her ex-husband. This was all his fault. If only he had been faithful, she never would have had to kill Erin. If she'd never killed Erin, she would have never known how much she liked killing. And then she wouldn't be here, pondering the end result of pulling her gun.

Sophia and Warrick exchanged concerned looks. Jana had been quiet for a few minutes now, but what was even more disconcerting was the fact that they couldn't see one of her hands.

"Jana?" Sophia asked once again.

Jana knew it was now or never. She quickly drew her gun and alternated where she pointed it from Warrick to Sophia. Both went for their own guns.

"Oh no, I don't think so," Jana said, still waving the gun back and forth. "I don't want to have to shoot you, so take out your guns and toss 'em on over." Jana knew she didn't sound very authoritative.

"Just calm down," Sophia spoke softly, not moving.

"I said toss your guns over here," Jana repeated, becoming agitated.

Warrick and Sophia once again looked at each other. Sophia nodded to Warrick and they obeyed. Neither knew how stable Jana might be, but both figured she really didn't want to shoot anyone.

After they complied, Jana had another thought. "Ok, and now your keys."

Warrick and Sophia both dipped into their pockets and then threw their keys towards Jana as well.

She was pleased with herself; this was easier than she thought. She smiled and started walking towards the door. She was still alternating her gun between Warrick and Sophia. After she passed the place where they were standing, she turned and walked backwards towards the door. She wanted to make sure the gun was still pointed at them.

Sophia knew she couldn't let Jana get out the door. If she did, there would be no way to prove Alex's innocence, of which Sophia was now sure.

As Jana fumbled with the door handle, Sophia made a quick move towards her. Jana saw her coming and leveled the gun at her. Warrick saw what was happening too late. Jana shut her eyes and pulled the trigger.


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14

Sophia grabbed for the gun, thinking that Jana wouldn't have the nerve to shoot; she was wrong. She froze mid step as she saw Jana squeeze the trigger. She braced for the bullet's impact, wondering how bad being shot felt.

Warrick stood immobilized in horror, knowing there was no way he could stop what was happening. He wanted to look away, but couldn't. How could he deal with a second partner being shot?

Only, no shot came.

Jana pulled the trigger again and again nothing. While Sophia and Warrick were left wondering what was happening, Jana fumbled with the door, still pulling the trigger with no consequence.

Sophia quickly realized something was amiss and restarted her movement towards Jana. She knocked the gun out of Jana's hands and quickly slammed her up against the wall. She started to handcuff her as she read Jana her rights.

Warrick, after regaining his composure, put on a pair of plastic gloves and went to check out the gun. He let out a short laugh of relief as he examined it.

"What?" Sophia asked, wondering what the chuckle was for.

"No bullets," Warrick informed her.

Jana gave an eerie smile. "I told you I didn't want to have to shoot you." She let out a laugh.

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Alex walked out into the noon sunlight. She was free, again and permanently. The charges against her were dropped since the real killer had been captured—and evidence was found proving Alex had been framed.

A search of Jana's duplex turned up a lot of evidence. Aside from finding the scalpel with the victims' blood and samples of Alex's hair, the hearts of the three women had been found. It was enough for anyone to see that Alex was innocent.

As she walked along the sidewalk, looking for Sam's car, she heard footsteps behind her.

"Can I um, give you a ride home?" the man behind her asked.

She turned around and looked at him. "I don't think that's a good idea, Greg."

He gave her an apologetic smile. "Come on, I have a lot to make up for."

She hated that smile because it always melted her heart. But this time, she knew, reconciliation wasn't in their future. "Greg, I can't. I can't do this anymore."

"Alex, please, don't say that. I know the last week has been so emotional. I wasn't thinking," Greg tried to apologize.

She held up her hand. "No, Greg. I've tried everything I could, but you still threw me out. You didn't even believe I was innocent!" Then she mumbled to herself, "Of course, neither did Gil."

"Alex," he tried to protest her analysis of the situation.

She grabbed his shoulders and looked him straight in the eye. "No, Greg. Just—no." She released him and then turned around.

She was glad she spotted Sam as soon as her back was to Greg. She picked up her pace and jogged over to his car. She didn't want Greg to get in another word. She wasn't sure if she could say no to him one more time.

She quickly opened his car door and slid in the passenger seat. Sam noticed a tear escaping from her eye.

"Are you ok?" he questioned.

She wiped away the tear. "No, but I will be."

"Home?" he asked.

She just nodded, looking out the window. Suddenly she turned and looked at him. "I don't think I've said it, but thank you for all your help."

He quickly looked at her then back at the road. "You're the easy kind of client—innocent."

She smiled and lightly tapped his knee. "Thank you," she replied, trying to choke back her tears.

"And the best kind of friend," he added.

She just nodded and went back to staring out the window. She had so much on her mind none of it could escape.

The rest of the car ride was silent. When they pulled into a parking space at Alex's complex, Sam started to get out.

"It's ok," Alex said to him. "You don't have to come in."

"It's not a problem," he replied, unbuckling himself.

"Really," she stopped him. "I kinda want to be alone right now, as ironic as that sounds."

"Ok," he responded, buckling himself back in. "Call me if you need me."

"Will do," she shut the door and walked towards her apartment.

She fumbled with the keys as she got to the door. It had been such a long week: in jail, out of jail, Greg, no Greg, Nick, and Jana. She could barely concentrate on the simple task at hand.

"Need help with that?" She recognized Nick's voice.

She turned to look at him as she slid her key in the lock. "Is it hunt down Alex day?" she mumbled.

"What?" he was confused.

"Nothing," she replied, waving her hand in dismissal. "What're you doing here?"

He pulled his hand from behind his back to reveal a bouquet of yellow roses. "Welcoming you home." He smiled his most charming smile.

She looked down, blushing and quietly said, "Yellow means friendship." Then looking back up, in a solid voice she added, "Nick, you shouldn't have."

"Ahh, but I did," he answered, still holding out the roses. "You've had a rough week, you deserve some flowers."

She took the flowers from him and inhaled their beautiful scent. "Thank you," she replied, her voice once again barely above a whisper.

"So, we going inside?" Nick questioned.

"We?" she playfully asked in response, unlocking the door and opening it.

She walked in, while he stood on the threshold waiting for his invitation.

She turned and looked at him. "Nick, I really do need to thank you. You're the only one who believed in me. But I really just need to be alone right now."

He held up his hands. "I understand. Call me when you're ready for a friend." He smiled again and then left.

She closed the door and placed the flowers on the table. She was about to get a vase for them when she was distracted by the blinking light on her answering machine. She went over and pushed play.

The first message was bad news; she'd been fired before she'd ever started her new job. She couldn't say she didn't expect it though. Getting arrested for murder kind of hinders job prospects.

The next one was from Gil. "Alex," he started his message. "This is Gil. Glad you are home. Sorry I haven't been around. Give me a call and let's do dinner."

Alex rolled her eyes at the message. She was not happy with Gil at the moment. He had all but disappeared since she was arrested. She knew she couldn't really blame him. He _did_ work for the crime lab. And she already knew if it came down to work or her, it was work.

She let out a long sigh. She also knew he wasn't the only one to let evidence overshadow their belief in her. Greg had fallen prey to the same inclination. It seemed only Nick hadn't.

When she thought of Nick, she remembered the roses. She went to the cupboard and pulled out a vase. As she unwrapped the flowers and placed them in the face, she noticed something usual. Amongst all the fully bloomed yellow roses was one red rose, still closed. Tied to the stem was a note.

_Curious_, she thought as she retrieved the card and opened it.

The card read: _My friendship with you is full and in bloom. I hope someday my love will be too. _

She caught her breath and her heart stopped. _I hope it will be too,_ she thought. _I just hope you'll still be waiting when I'm ready._

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

"Let me ask you a question."

"Ok, you can ask me one question and only one."

"Why frame Alex Hart?"

Jana let out the laugh that had become her trademark through the interrogation process. "Of all the questions you could ask, you ask why Alex?"

Grissom gave her a serious look. "Yes, why Alex?"

She looked at him straight in the eye and replied, "When a single seed of doubt is cultivated properly, it will yield the forest of guilt."

Grissom simply nodded in agreement. It was in the forest of guilt that he had lost his daughter. He only hoped he hadn't lost her for good.


End file.
